big leaguer

American

[big lee-ger] / ˈbɪg ˈli gər /

Or big-leaguer

noun

Sports. a player in a major league, especially in baseball.
Informal. a person who belongs to or works for a large or powerful organization.

Etymology

Origin of big leaguer

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; big league + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

About once a month Judge will receive a comment from a waiter or a cashier who looks at his credit card and notes that he has the same name as the big leaguer.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2024

Emphasis on “trying,” considering his girlfriend is LSU gymnast/prominent social media influencer Livvy Dunne, who joined Skenes for his first trip to Pittsburgh as a big leaguer.

From Seattle Times • May 10, 2024

Just part of being the new guy back in the day, a rite of passage for the latest big leaguer getting promoted.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 25, 2024

The Cubs hired the 53-year-old Counsell away from Milwaukee last week, landing the former big leaguer with a record contract and firing David Ross in a pair of surprising moves.

From Washington Times • Nov. 13, 2023

"I'm not a big leaguer yet," protested Joe.

From Baseball Joe in the Big League or, A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles by Chadwick, Lester

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023