full-court press

noun

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of full-court press

1 : a press employed in basketball on both halves of the court

2 : an all-out effort or offensive

See full-court press defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of full-court press from the Web

In a full-court press, letters spelling out his curated narrative went to law enforcement authorities, including the Ithaca police, State Police, F.B.I. and the Tompkins County district attorney, responsible for prosecuting Ithaca crimes.

— New York Times, "Never Solved, a College Dorm Fire Has Become One Man’s Obsession," 13 Apr. 2018
Every wealthier program with a job opening will at least take a sniff, and someone with deep pockets could put on a full-court press.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Porter Moser Built Loyola-Chicago Into a Sensation. Will He Stick Around for the Next Step?," 27 Mar. 2018
Oak Hills had no answer to the Warriors' 1-2-2 full-court press.

— shelby dermer, Cincinnati.com, "Oak Hills falls to Wayne in DI boys basketball district title," 10 Mar. 2018
The Falcons’ unexpected offensive struggles in 2017 overshadowed a defense that’s quietly emerged as one of the fastest and fiercest in the league, able to slap a full-court press on anybody.

— usa today sports, USA TODAY, "Who will be NFL's 'Final Four' teams in 2018 season?," 30 Mar. 2018
Desperate, Texas A&M rolled out a full-court press to start the second half.

— mike tierney, New York Times, "Michigan Blows Out Texas A&M (and Then Plays the Second Half)," 22 Mar. 2018
The Mountaineers, however, will provide much more stress with their full-court press, meaning all of Villanova’s guards must be careful with the basketball and be aggressive when pressured.

— joe juliano, Philly.com, "Sweet 16: Inside the Villanova-West Virginia matchup," 22 Mar. 2018
Osborne came back in the fourth quarter, providing court leadership against Clovis West's full-court press.

— eric sondheimer, latimes.com, "Windward advances to Open Division girls' state championship game," 18 Mar. 2018
Marshall will attempt to counter West Virginia’s relentless full-court press by trying to score quickly.

— joe sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, "A preview of Sunday’s NCAA Tournament games," 17 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'full-court press.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.