zone defense
noun
: a system of defense (as in basketball or football) in which each player guards an assigned area rather than a specified opponent
Examples of zone defense in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Miami toggled through variations of zone defenses and full court pressures, forcing Golden State to adjust on the fly.
—
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
Etiwanda broke out a 3-2 matchup zone defense that the Monarchs couldn’t figure out.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
The Hoosiers didn’t have much trouble getting through the Gophers’ zone defense, while Minnesota shot poorly from deep.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2024
Synergy has charted 19 Indiana possessions in zone defense this season, five more than the 14 the Hoosiers played last winter.
—Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Jan. 2024
As the Heat struggled to make threes against the New Orleans Pelicans’ zone defense on Friday without the shooting of Herro, Love and Robinson on the court, Swider entered the game in the second quarter and made his first two shots from three-point range.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2024
And the Clippers looked confused playing against Milwaukee’s zone defense, especially in the fourth quarter.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Despite finishing third in points allowed, the 49ers never seemed to find a defensive personality, vacillating from an aggressive blitzing team with elements of man-to-man to one that relies on front-four pressure and top-down zone defense in the secondary.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024
The Spartans coaxed the Aztecs into launching 3s with a mixture of man and several zone defenses, and the Aztecs obliged by shooting just 5 of 20 beyond the arc.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
Etiwanda broke out a 3-2 matchup zone defense that the Monarchs couldn’t figure out.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
The Hoosiers didn’t have much trouble getting through the Gophers’ zone defense, while Minnesota shot poorly from deep.
—Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 12 Jan. 2024
Synergy has charted 19 Indiana possessions in zone defense this season, five more than the 14 the Hoosiers played last winter.
—Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Jan. 2024
As the Heat struggled to make threes against the New Orleans Pelicans’ zone defense on Friday without the shooting of Herro, Love and Robinson on the court, Swider entered the game in the second quarter and made his first two shots from three-point range.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2024
And the Clippers looked confused playing against Milwaukee’s zone defense, especially in the fourth quarter.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Despite finishing third in points allowed, the 49ers never seemed to find a defensive personality, vacillating from an aggressive blitzing team with elements of man-to-man to one that relies on front-four pressure and top-down zone defense in the secondary.
—Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 2 Mar. 2024
The Spartans coaxed the Aztecs into launching 3s with a mixture of man and several zone defenses, and the Aztecs obliged by shooting just 5 of 20 beyond the arc.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zone defense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Zone defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zone%20defense. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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