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
The Heat did it by sitting in its zone defense for most of the night, slowing the 76ers and forcing them into 17 non-paint two-point shots.
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Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
Deploying some zone defense, Denver scraped by for five minutes, outscoring the Warriors by two before subbing Jokic and Watson back in together.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
James Madison used a sagging zone defense in the paint or a double-team on Strack in an attempt to slow down the Wildcats, but that left Strack’s teammates open for easy shots.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Prior to Tuesday night’s disheartening 136-106 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Spoelstra was asked about his team’s unique reliance on zone defense.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
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Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2026
Deploying some zone defense, Denver scraped by for five minutes, outscoring the Warriors by two before subbing Jokic and Watson back in together.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026
James Madison used a sagging zone defense in the paint or a double-team on Strack in an attempt to slow down the Wildcats, but that left Strack’s teammates open for easy shots.
—ABC News, 21 Mar. 2026
Prior to Tuesday night’s disheartening 136-106 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Spoelstra was asked about his team’s unique reliance on zone defense.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for zone defense
Cite this Entry
“Zone defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zone%20defense. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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