VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

out of someone's league

phrase·Everydayinformal

Last updated

UK/ˌaʊt əv ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈliːɡ/
US/ˌaʊt əv ˌsʌmwʌnz ˈliːɡ/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phraseinformal

    too good, skilled, or attractive for someone to have or compete with successfully.

    Grammar: Used after be or seem, with a possessive: she is out of my league.

    Patterns

    • be out of someone's league
    • someone is out of my/his/her league
    • feel out of someone's league

    He is a brilliant scientist, and honestly I felt out of his league at dinner.

    She is out of my league, so I have never asked her out.

    As a beginner player, I was completely out of their league in that tournament.

  2. phrasefixed phraseinformal

    better or more advanced than someone, so that they cannot take part as an equal.

    Grammar: Often used with verbs like be or put: that team put us out of our league.

    Patterns

    • put someone out of their league
    • be out of someone's league

    The new software put our small company out of its league against the big firms.

    With that budget, the club is out of the league of most local teams.

Common combinations

be out of someone's league
He is out of my league when it comes to chess.
feel out of someone's league
I felt out of her league at the party, so I said very little.
way out of someone's league
That apartment is way out of our league; we cannot afford it.
put someone out of their league
Their new signing put the whole division out of its league.

Synonyms and how they differ

out of your depth
Means you cannot cope with a task or situation; it is about ability in a situation, not about being too good for someone.
beneath someone
Means not good enough for someone; it is the opposite direction from out of someone's league.
unattainable
A formal word meaning impossible to get or reach; it does not suggest that the other person is better than you.

Opposites

within someone's reach

Word family

league noun
A group of teams or people of the same level; the phrase comes from this idea of levels.

Commonly confused: out of someone's league or out of my depth?

out of someone's league vs out of my depth

Out of my depth means I cannot manage a task; out of my league means the other person or team is too good for me.

Practice

She is a famous actress, so I never asked her out — I knew she was ___ my league.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “out of someone's league”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words