the big leagues

plural noun

US
: the two highest U.S. baseball leagues (the American League and the National League)
He always dreamed of playing in the big leagues.
often used figuratively
She's moving up to the big leagues in the television industry.
She's in the big leagues now, working for a major law firm in a large city.

Examples of the big leagues in a Sentence

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Although his time in the big leagues was brief, Ford would go on to coach youth baseball in New Jersey, then in Texas at Huston-Tillotson University, an NAIA school. Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025 This season, Jensen made the leap from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to the big leagues. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2025 All of those pitchers have been in the big leagues. Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 15 Sep. 2025 Southwestern standouts Travis Taijeron, John Jaso, Alex Pelaez, Gino Minutelli and Tommy Hinzo all went on to play in the big leagues. John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for the big leagues

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Cite this Entry

“The big leagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20leagues. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

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