: being of an inferior class or group of its kind : marked by a lack of sophistication or professionalism
Examples of bush-league in a Sentence
Adjective
that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show
Recent Examples on the Web
Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what.
—Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Aria Darcella, WSJ, 29 June 2023
On air:Arizona Diamondbacks refute 'bush league' comments from San Francisco Giants' Jon Miller What to know: World Baseball Classic returns to Phoenix's Chase Field The other offerings are different, with the exception of his slider, which has long been his go-to off-speed pitch.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2023
Sure, the Bucs are trying to get ready for the playoffs, but this was bush league.
—Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
The chief antagonist to these concerned scientists is Edward Teller (Joel Basman), the most fervent advocate for the construction of a hydrogen bomb that would make the atomic blasts in Japan seem almost bush league.
—Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020
Highlighting only Kitchens’ blunders when calling identical plays and hiding his successes is deceitful and bush league.
—Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 17 Oct. 2019
Not to be outdone, Richard Mille, grand master of alternative material innovation, is at the final stage of crafting a watch case from a material that relegates even unobtanium to the bush leagues by its sheer badassitude.
—Wei Koh, A-LIST, 3 Apr. 2018
The other maddening thing is that the Zinke scandal seems almost bush league in the swampy World Series of corruption that is Donald Trump’s Washington.
—Will Bunch, Philly.com, 5 Oct. 2017
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Adjective
While Chad is giving bush-league Sandler, the supporting characters are ripped from the playbook of Ted Lasso—another sports comedy based on a viral bit, not to mention a massively popular show whose title surely figured in the development of Chad Powers.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024
The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what.
—Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024
Noun
But, while thrifty, those are the sort of hacks that style insiders consider bush league.
—Aria Darcella, WSJ, 29 June 2023
On air:Arizona Diamondbacks refute 'bush league' comments from San Francisco Giants' Jon Miller What to know: World Baseball Classic returns to Phoenix's Chase Field The other offerings are different, with the exception of his slider, which has long been his go-to off-speed pitch.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2023
Sure, the Bucs are trying to get ready for the playoffs, but this was bush league.
—Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020
The chief antagonist to these concerned scientists is Edward Teller (Joel Basman), the most fervent advocate for the construction of a hydrogen bomb that would make the atomic blasts in Japan seem almost bush league.
—Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020
Highlighting only Kitchens’ blunders when calling identical plays and hiding his successes is deceitful and bush league.
—Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 17 Oct. 2019
Not to be outdone, Richard Mille, grand master of alternative material innovation, is at the final stage of crafting a watch case from a material that relegates even unobtanium to the bush leagues by its sheer badassitude.
—Wei Koh, A-LIST, 3 Apr. 2018
The other maddening thing is that the Zinke scandal seems almost bush league in the swampy World Series of corruption that is Donald Trump’s Washington.
—Will Bunch, Philly.com, 5 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bush-league. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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