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prevent defense

American

noun

Football.

the defensive strategy of adding a defender to prevent completion of a long pass or other long gain.

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.

"In football parlance, we were in a prevent defense to not lose when we never had anything to lose because I don’t think we were ever ahead."

From Salon • Mar. 9, 2025

The requests were made to prevent defense counsel and/or their client from trying to “poison these proceedings” and intentionally turning the trial “into a circus.”

From Slate • Jan. 16, 2024

And it remains unclear whether renouncing the 2009 document will prevent defense lawyers in future cases from using similar victim-blaming concepts — just with alternative terminology.

From Scientific American • Oct. 16, 2023

Cliche warning: All the prevent defense does is prevent you from winning.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2021

So, one resolution down and the other in a prevent defense.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2021

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