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league

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noun [countable] British English pronunciation: league /liːɡ/ 
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singularleague
pluralleagues
  1. 1
    a group of teams or players who regularly compete against one another, put in order according to how many points they have won

    the Italian first-division football league

    be top/bottom of the league:

    Chelsea are top of the league again.

    league champions/leaders

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  leagueThesaurus entry for this meaning of league
    1. a.
      British a list of organizations, places etc put in order according to how good they are in some way

      a league of Europe’s cleanest beaches

      schools which are top of the performance league

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  leagueThesaurus entry for this meaning of league
    2. b.
      [only before noun] relating to a football league in Britain

      league match/game/cup

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  leagueThesaurus entry for this meaning of league
  2. 2
    a group of people or things that are similar in their quality, skills, or achievements
    not be in the same league as someone/something:

    He’s not bad, but he’s not in the same league as the others.

    be in a different league from someone/something (=be much better):

    If you ask me, Soderberg’s in a different league from most Hollywood film directors.

    be in a league of your own (=be much better than the rest):

    She’s always been in a league of her own.

    be out of someone’s league (=too good/difficult/expensive etc for someone):

    She’ll never go out with someone like you: she’s way out of your league.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  leagueThesaurus entry for this meaning of league

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