on defense

idiom

sports

: on the part of a team that defends the goal

She began the season on defense, but her coach later put her on offense.

Examples of on defense in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In recent games, KU’s communication has been pretty poor on defense and that’s led to players taking (and too often missing) wide-open 3-pointers. —Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026

The Horns have some talent, but have been a sieve on defense over the last few games, including a gut punch of a 101-98 overtime loss at home to Mississippi State in the conference opener. —Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026

The extra rotations are being made on defense. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 9 Jan. 2026

Cronin has the talent, his messages continue to resonate, and yet, there’s been a disconnect between applying practice and scouting reports to the game, primarily on defense. —Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for on defense

• antisense
• commonsense
• effulgence
• frankincense
• ninepence
• nondefense
• penitence
• recommence
• recompence
• recompense
• cense
• dense