bush-league

1 of 2

adjective

ˈbu̇sh-ˌlēg

Synonyms of bush-league

: being of an inferior class or group of its kind : marked by a lack of sophistication or professionalism

bush league

2 of 2

Examples of bush-league in a Sentence

Adjective that's just a bush-league ploy to get cast on a TV reality show

Recent Examples on the Web

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.

Adjective

A lot of times, these bush-league but prolific lawbreakers basically got a warning, then another warning, then maybe a couple of months in county. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024

The script constitutes a string of bush-league errors we’re not supposed to care about, starting with the audience getting way, way out ahead of the characters regarding who’s hiding what. —Michael Phillips, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024 What happened in the California state Assembly truly was a bush-league error. —George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023

Noun

But, while thrifty, those are the sort of hacks that style insiders consider bush league. —Aria Darcella, WSJ, 29 June 2023 On air:Arizona Diamondbacks refute 'bush league' comments from San Francisco Giants' Jon Miller What to know: World Baseball Classic returns to Phoenix's Chase Field The other offerings are different, with the exception of his slider, which has long been his go-to off-speed pitch. —The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2023 Sure, the Bucs are trying to get ready for the playoffs, but this was bush league. —Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 26 Dec. 2020 In contemporary universities, in the social sciences and humanities, calling oneself Dr. is thought bush league. —Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 11 Dec. 2020 The chief antagonist to these concerned scientists is Edward Teller (Joel Basman), the most fervent advocate for the construction of a hydrogen bomb that would make the atomic blasts in Japan seem almost bush league. —Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020 Highlighting only Kitchens’ blunders when calling identical plays and hiding his successes is deceitful and bush league. —Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 17 Oct. 2019 Not to be outdone, Richard Mille, grand master of alternative material innovation, is at the final stage of crafting a watch case from a material that relegates even unobtanium to the bush leagues by its sheer badassitude. —Wei Koh, A-LIST, 3 Apr. 2018 The other maddening thing is that the Zinke scandal seems almost bush league in the swampy World Series of corruption that is Donald Trump’s Washington. —Will Bunch, Philly.com, 5 Oct. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1908, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of bush-league was in 1896

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

bush league

bush-league

bush lespedeza

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Bush-league.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bush-league. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

bush-league

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of bush-league in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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bush-league

adjective

noun

Synonyms

Examples of bush-league in a Sentence

Word History

Rhymes for bush-league

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Share

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