zone defense

noun

, Sports.

1. a method of defense, especially in basketball and football, in which each member of the defensive team guards a specified portion of the playing area.

Word History and Origins

Origin of zone defense¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The coach said Washington experimented with playing a little zone defense earlier this season — with minor success — but will have to get creative with his other big men.

From Washington Post

They played 238 possessions of zone defense in 2020-21 compared with 45 in 2019-20.

From FiveThirtyEight

Per Second Spectrum, they played soft in the pick and roll far more than they switched, and they didn’t use a single possession of zone defense.

From FiveThirtyEight