as in big(s)
the highest level of a field of endeavor
Broadway is the big leagues, and for big bucks theatergoers expect professionalism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of big leagues
With prices so high, media companies are narrowing their packages, leaving some big leagues like the NBA spread across more networks and streamers.
—
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
For the first time in a summer transfer window, spending on new signings by England’s top 20 clubs outstripped that of those in the other four big leagues — Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 — combined.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
That 2022 validation — Nvidia invested about $900 million into the company, now worth more than $2 billion — launched CoreWeave into the AI big leagues with access to the chipmaker’s most advanced products to build the powerful data centers used to serve and train many of OpenAI’s models.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
For the first time in a summer transfer window, spending on new signings by England’s top 20 clubs outstripped that of those in the other four big leagues — Serie A, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 — combined.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
That 2022 validation — Nvidia invested about $900 million into the company, now worth more than $2 billion — launched CoreWeave into the AI big leagues with access to the chipmaker’s most advanced products to build the powerful data centers used to serve and train many of OpenAI’s models.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big leagues
major league
Noun
-
Samaniego, known in the clubhouse as ‘Sammy,’ saw his streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his major league career end in the top of the eighth.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
15 May 2026
-
The Cardinals snapped a two-game skid and improved their major league-best road record to 14-7.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Big leagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big%20leagues. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
