as in bigs
the highest level of a field of endeavor
when you've landed a tenure-track position at that university, you're playing in the major leagues
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Recent Examples of major leagues
Fandom can extend beyond sports, but major leagues represent the largest generators of social connectivity.
—
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026
This summer’s transfer window was a record-setting one, with Premier League teams spending more than £3billion — seven of the 20 clubs paid the highest fee in their history — as the division outspent Europe’s other four major leagues combined.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Baseball has been slower than most major leagues to bring women into its officiating ranks.
—Kim Elsesser, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026
This summer’s transfer window was a record-setting one, with Premier League teams spending more than £3billion — seven of the 20 clubs paid the highest fee in their history — as the division outspent Europe’s other four major leagues combined.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Baseball has been slower than most major leagues to bring women into its officiating ranks.
—Kim Elsesser, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for major leagues
Noun
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The Sparks are backcourt heavy, then have three bigs in Nneka Ogwumike, Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
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But the Celtics have done a somewhat better job during the past five years of finding a combination of shooters — Sam Hauser (undrafted) and Payton Pritchard (late first round) and second-round bigs (Neemias Queta and Luka Garza).—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Major leagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/major%20leagues. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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