group of colleges and universities in the United States that are known for their academic excellence (Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Columbia)
The Ivy League is a group of eight universities in the north-eastern part of the United States, which have high academic and social status. an Ivy League college. Of or resembling the traditions of the Ivy League.Ivy Leaguer n. a group of eight old and respected universities in the northeastern US League. Group of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., high in academic and social prestige, that are members of an athletic conference for intercollegiate gridiron football dating to the 1870s. It consists of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, and Cornell universities, the University of Pennsylvania, and Dartmouth College