ENGLISH
REFERENCE

league

n. · v. · adj.
US //ˈɫiɡ// UK //lˈiːɡ// league
  1. 1 sports competition (n.)
    B1 Intermediate Sport

    a group of sports teams that play against each other to see who is the best.

    an association of sports teams or clubs that compete against one another in a scheduled series of matches.

    Example

    Our local football team finished at the top of the league this year.

    Example

    The club's promotion to the premier league resulted in a significant increase in television revenue and global sponsorship deals.
  2. 2 an alliance (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a group of people, companies, or countries that join together for a specific purpose.

    a formal association or alliance of nations, organisations, or individuals formed for mutual protection or the pursuit of common interests.

    Example

    The two nations formed a league to protect their shared trade routes.

    Example

    The environmental league lobbied the government for stricter regulations on industrial waste disposal across the continent.
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  1. 3 level of quality (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a level of quality or ability.

    a class or category of people or things that are considered to be at the same level of ability or excellence.

    Example

    As a chef, he is in a different league compared to the others in this city.

    Example

    The young pianist's technical proficiency was impressive, but her emotional depth put her in a league of her own.
  2. 4 historical distance (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    an old way to measure distance, usually about three miles or five kilometres.

    a historical unit of distance, typically representing the distance a person could walk in one hour, roughly equivalent to three miles.

    Example

    The castle was still many leagues away across the dark forest.

    Example

    The ancient mariner claimed to have sailed seven hundred leagues into the unknown waters of the southern ocean.

  3. 5 to join together (v.)
    C1 Advanced Formal

    to join with other people or groups to work together.

    to form an association or alliance; to unite for mutual support or a common purpose.

    Example

    The small businesses decided to league together to fight the new tax.

    Example

    Several independent city-states leagued together to resist the encroaching imperial army during the late fourteenth century.
  4. 6 professional football status (adj.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate British English Sport

    describes a team that plays in the top professional divisions of English football.

    referring to a club that competes within the established professional tiers of a national football system.

    Example

    They were excited to finally play against a league club in the cup match.

    Example

    The small town celebrated wildly when their local side finally achieved league status after decades in the amateur divisions.
    • non league
Etymology 1

From Middle English liege, ligg, lige (“a pact between governments, an agreement, alliance”), from Middle French ligue, from Italian lega, from the verb legare, from Latin ligō (“I tie”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English lege (“league”), from Late Latin leuca, leuga (“the Gaulish mile”), from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *lougā (compare Middle Breton leau, lew, Breton lev / leo (“league”)). Doublet of legua.

Idioms1 entry

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