zone defense
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of zone defense
First recorded in 1925–30
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.
Those underdogs tend to follow a simple recipe—they have one or two elite skills, like 3-point shooting or an airtight zone defense, that can tilt a seeming mismatch in their favor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Wolfson, who has used a matchup zone defense at times during his coaching days, is teasing how it might make a return with Millogo in the middle.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2025
There were fewer missed tackles — from 11 on average per game to eight — while USC improved leaps and bounds on third down and in its red zone defense.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2025
They didn’t make a basket again until 3:01 into the second half — a stretch of 9 minutes, 53 seconds — as Oregon befuddled the Wildcats with a zone defense for much of that stretch.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2024
St. Peter’s started with a two-one-two zone defense.
From "Slam!" by Walter Dean Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
