league
Pluralleagues
Pluralleagues
Formsleagues, leaguing, leagued
- 1A group of sports teams that play games against each other to win a championship.
Like a club where many teams sign up to play against each other.
Our town started a new soccer league for kids last spring.
The basketball league plays its final game next weekend.
UsageTeams play in a league. Names like the Premier League start with capitals.
- 2A level or class of people or things that are about as good as each other.
Like sorting players into groups where everyone is about the same skill.
That tennis player is in a different league from the rest of us.
These two restaurants are in the same league for quality.
UsageUsually in phrases like out of your league, in the same league or in a league of her own.
- 3A group of people, groups, or countries that join together to work for the same goal.
Like a team where each person helps the others reach one goal.
They formed a league to protect the local park.
The neighborhood league meets once a month to plan events.
UsagePeople form or join a league, often a league of people or countries.
Note
- 4Playing in one of the top four divisions of English professional soccer.
Like playing in the big national divisions, not just a small local team.
In the FA Cup, small non-league teams sometimes beat league clubs.
Their local team finally became a league side after winning promotion.
UsageUsually before a noun, as in a league club. Clubs below England's top four divisions are non-league.
Oppositenon-league
Note
- 5Short for rugby league, a kind of rugby football.
He played league for years before switching codes.
Our town is mad about league every winter.
UsageUsually no a or the: people play league, like they play football.
Less common meanings
- 6A unit of distance equal to about three miles, roughly how far a person can walk in one hour.
Like saying 'an hour's walk' instead of an exact number of miles.
The village was about a league from the coast.
They walked nearly three leagues before nightfall.
Note
- 7To join together with others to form a group for help or support.
Like kids teaming up so no one has to play alone.
The small kingdoms had to league together or be conquered one by one.
The rebels leagued with neighboring tribes against the king.
UsageMost often as leagued with someone or leagued together.
Similarally, unite, band, join, combine
Note
- 8A stone set up beside a road to show how many leagues away a place is.
- 9A type of large local government area in Inner Mongolia, China.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of league apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
It comes from Latin "ligo," meaning "I tie," through Italian and French words for an alliance.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- League ultimately derives from Latin ligō through Italian lega and Middle French ligue. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin ligō means “I tie.” en.wiktionary.org
- The intervening Italian word denotes a league or association. en.wiktionary.org
- The intervening French word denotes an alliance. en.wiktionary.org
It comes from a Gaulish word for a unit of distance, the "Gaulish mile."
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- League, meaning a unit of distance, ultimately comes from Gaulish. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestral distance unit is described as the “Gaulish mile.” en.wiktionary.org