zonal

American

[zohn-l] / ˈzoʊn l /

Also zonary

adjective

of or relating to a zone or zones.
of the nature of a zone.

zonal British

/ ˈzəʊnəl /

adjective

of, relating to, or of the nature of a zone

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of zonal

First recorded in 1865–70; zone + -al ¹

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.

See Examples For:

zonal

"When you play against a complete zonal team, the most important thing is that you understand that you need to move them. By moving the opposition, you create spaces, you create a free player."

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Brighton use this back pass as a pressing trigger to switch from their zonal defence into a man-to-man approach.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The R2’s new zonal control architecture is neatly loomed to three big processors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

At Ulm in the early 1990s, Rangnick was laying the groundwork for a tactical revolution in German football as one of the first managers to introduce zonal marking.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

D. Spherical aberration may be located by using stops and zonal screens, and observing the effect on the image.

From On Laboratory Arts by Richard Threlfall

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