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 figurativelyShe'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
Recent Examples on the Web
Casey’s General Store is graduating the S & P 400 mid-cap index and moving up to the big leagues, replacing Hologic (HOLX) in the S & P 500.
—
Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 4 May 2026
Fortunately, one of baseball’s better hitting prospects has been thriving at Triple A for San Francisco, and the team has finally decided to promote him to the big leagues.
—Andy Behrens, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Ruiz, making his fourth start, has hit two home runs in 14 Marlins plate appearances after smacking seven in his first 621 in the big leagues.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 May 2026
By the time the day was over, the veteran reliever, who has pitched in parts of 14 major league seasons, had earned a promotion to the big leagues, welcomed his second child and pitched in a major league game.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for the big leagues
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Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 4 May 2026
Fortunately, one of baseball’s better hitting prospects has been thriving at Triple A for San Francisco, and the team has finally decided to promote him to the big leagues.
—Andy Behrens, New York Times, 4 May 2026
Ruiz, making his fourth start, has hit two home runs in 14 Marlins plate appearances after smacking seven in his first 621 in the big leagues.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 May 2026
By the time the day was over, the veteran reliever, who has pitched in parts of 14 major league seasons, had earned a promotion to the big leagues, welcomed his second child and pitched in a major league game.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for the big leagues
Cite this Entry
“The big leagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20leagues. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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