# league

/ˈɫiɡ/ (US) · /lˈiːɡ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/league
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. sports competition

noun · CEFR B1

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

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

- Our local football team finished at the top of the league this year.
- The club's promotion to the premier league resulted in a significant increase in television revenue and global sponsorship deals.

### 2. an alliance

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

- The two nations formed a league to protect their shared trade routes.
- The environmental league lobbied the government for stricter regulations on industrial waste disposal across the continent.

### 3. level of quality

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a level of quality or ability.

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

- As a chef, he is in a different league compared to the others in this city.
- The young pianist's technical proficiency was impressive, but her emotional depth put her in a league of her own.

### 4. historical distance

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic · Literary

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

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

- The castle was still many leagues away across the dark forest.
- The ancient mariner claimed to have sailed seven hundred leagues into the unknown waters of the southern ocean.

### 5. to join together

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to join with other people or groups to work together.

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

- The small businesses decided to league together to fight the new tax.
- Several independent city-states leagued together to resist the encroaching imperial army during the late fourteenth century.

### 6. professional football status

adjective · CEFR B2 · British English

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

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

- They were excited to finally play against a league club in the cup match.
- The small town celebrated wildly when their local side finally achieved league status after decades in the amateur divisions.

## Examples

- Our local football team is at the top of the league.
- After winning every game this season, the team was promoted to a more competitive professional league.
- The diplomat argued that the small nation was punching above its weight, competing in a diplomatic league usually reserved for global superpowers.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.