Definition

Noun: A professional sports team that competes at the highest national level in its sport, specifically as a member of an officially recognized major league.

Usage

The term "major-league team" is used to specify a professional sports franchise that is part of the top-tier league in its sport, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), or the National Hockey League (NHL). It distinguishes these elite teams from minor-league, semi-professional, or amateur teams.

Examples

• The New York Yankees are a historic major-league team in baseball.
• Securing funding for a new stadium is a significant challenge for any major-league team.
• He dreams of managing a major-league team someday.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically outside of sports to describe an organization or entity operating at the highest level of any competitive field.
  • After the merger, their company was suddenly a major-league team in the tech industry.

Variants and Related Words

• Major League (noun): The league itself comprising the major-league teams.
• Big-league team (noun, informal): A synonymous informal term for a major-league team.
• Franchise (noun): Often used interchangeably with "major-league team" to emphasize the business entity.
• Club (noun): A common synonym, especially in global football/soccer contexts (e.g., a Premier League club).

Synonyms

• Big-league team
• Professional team (in the context of the top tier)
• Elite franchise

Antonyms

• Minor-league team
• Amateur team
• Semi-professional team

Noun

1. a team that plays in a major league