strike zone

American  

noun

Baseball.

1. the area above home plate extending from the batter's knees to the shoulders.

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Etymology

Origin of strike zone

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Based on measurements of ballplayers’ dimensions — but not, crucially, the stance individual players take at the plate — ABS makes the television strike zone into the actual one.

From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026

ABS uses tracking technology — 12 Hawk-Eye cameras — to determine the precise location of a pitch relative to a batter’s specific strike zone.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Now baseball has coldly defined the strike zone as 17 inches of plate width, 8.5 inches of plate depth, passing between 53.5 and 27% of his height.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Your team’s all-star closer misses the strike zone.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026

This was right in her strike zone: an aggrieved victim, a remorseless alleged perpetrator, and no one taking up the fight.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel