the big leagues

plural noun

US
: the two highest U.S. baseball leagues (the American League and the National League)
He always dreamed of playing in the big leagues.
often used figuratively
She's moving up to the big leagues in the television industry.
She's in the big leagues now, working for a major law firm in a large city.

Examples of the big leagues in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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However, Mauricio spent all of 2024 in the big leagues. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025 After struggling to stick in the rotation and in the big leagues in 2023, Peterson underwent hip labrum surgery last fall and came back better than ever. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2025 Friedl, Fraley and Fairchild all dealt with injuries last season, while Will Benson struggled mightily in his second full season in the big leagues. C. Trent Rosecrans, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025 The ballpark will be one of the smallest in the big leagues, with just 10,000 permanent seats and a 14,000-person capacity thanks to a lawn area beyond the right field wall. Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for the big leagues 

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Cite this Entry

“The big leagues.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20leagues. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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