SINCE 1828
backcourt
noun
back·court
| \ ˈbak-ˈkȯrt
\
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Definition of backcourt
1
: the area near or nearest the back boundary lines or back wall of the playing area in a net or court game
2a
: a basketball team's defensive half of the court
b
: the positions of the guards on a basketball team
also
: the guards themselves
a team with a strong backcourt
Examples of backcourt in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Signs have pointed to the Celtics targeting backcourt depth, noting that Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart will be financially challenging to retain long-term. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "2018 NBA Mock Draft 11.0: Trade Rumors and Final Picks for Both Rounds," 21 June 2018 Shaun Livingston is invaluable and Quinn Cook has been solid, but the backcourt depth was so much stronger last season with Patrick McCaw (currently injured) and Ian Clark. — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors-Houston matchups," 12 May 2018 Mindful of Gilbert’s situation, UConn moved to add backcourt depth, landing grad transfer Tarin Smith from Duquesne and Class of 2018 guard Brendan Adams from Baltimore, both committing to UConn after visiting this past weekend. — Dom Amore, courant.com, "Dan Hurley: Alterique Gilbert's Health, Jalen Adams' Drive Keys To 'Changing Narrative'," 16 Apr. 2018 The improved backcourt depth should allow Khalil Iverson to focus on playing forward. — Jeff Potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "UW guard Brad Davison, teammates look past pain of Big Ten tournament defeat and see promise in the future," 3 Mar. 2018 UO’s backcourt depth was nearly thinned again in Friday’s win at Colorado, when junior Maite Cazorla’s right hand was stepped on while diving for a loose ball. — Andrew Greif, OregonLive.com, "Forget the Super Bowl: For Oregon's women, super-important matchups with Cal, Stanford loom," 30 Jan. 2018 Lineup 3: Cunningham, Fore, King, Sutton, Enoch A veteran lineup here, with two grad transfers in the backcourt and three experienced frontcourt guys. — Jeff Greer, The Courier-Journal, "Who will start for Louisville basketball? 5 combos Chris Mack can use," 26 June 2018 Vlade Divac, the Kings’ vice president of basketball operations, loves Doncic, who could pair with De’Aaron Fox in the backcourt or play more of a point-forward position. — Scott Bordow, azcentral, "NBA mock draft 5.0: A new name for the Phoenix Suns at No. 16 in 2018 NBA draft," 13 June 2018 New Orleans has come into each game with the plan of switching the design of its defense several times to confuse the Blazers backcourt, and its worked masterfully. — William Guillory, NOLA.com, "How defensive improvement has transformed Pelicans into a contender," 20 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'backcourt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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