zone defense

IPA/ˈzəʊn dɪˌfens/
IPA/ˈzoʊn dɪˌfens/

zone defense — noun

1. a way of defending in sports such as basketball and American football where each

1.nounB1
Definition

a way of defending in sports such as basketball and American football where each player guards a specific area of the playing field or court instead of following a particular opposing player

Example

The coach taught the team a zone defense to take better control of the court.

guard an area, not a specific opponent

Quan prefers playing zone defense because it requires less running than man-to-man coverage.

Common collocations
  • play zone defense
  • use zone defense
  • switch to zone defense
  • run a zone defense
Synonyms
Antonyms

Usage Note

Commonly contrasted with man-to-man defense, where each player guards a specific opponent rather than an area.

Common Mistakes

The team used a zone defense to guard each player individually.
The team used a zone defense to guard each area of the court.
zone defense is area-based, not player-based.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Zone defense, zone coverage, man-to-man defense, and prevent defense are all terms for defensive strategies in team sports, but they differ in scope and formality. Zone defense is the broadest term, used across basketball and American football for any system where players guard areas. Zone coverage is a narrower synonym used primarily in American football to describe pass-defense schemes where defensive backs cover zones of the field. Man-to-man defense is the direct antonym — each player is assigned a specific opponent to follow everywhere on the field, which requires more athleticism but allows tighter coverage on star players. Prevent defense is a specific type of zone defense used in American football late in a game when the leading team needs to stop long passes; it deploys defensive backs deep to prevent big plays but leaves short passes open. In everyday sports discussion, zone defense and man-to-man are the most common pair of opposites: 'The coach switched from man-to-man to zone defense at halftime.'

zone defense ↗zone coverageman-to-man defenseprevent defense

Common collocations

Nouns

  • zone defense system
  • zone defense strategy
  • zone defense formation

Phrases

  • play zone defense
  • switch to zone defense
  • use zone defense against

Prepositions

  • in zone defense

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

Zone defense is a compound noun formed from zone (from Latin zona 'belt, girdle', via Greek zōnē) and defense (from Latin defendere 'to ward off', from de- 'away' + fendere 'to strike'). The term first appeared in American sports writing around 1927, when basketball and football coaches began developing organized area-defensive strategies as alternatives to man-to-man coverage. The concept spread widely in the mid-20th century as zone defenses became formalized in college and professional sports rulebooks.

First known use

1927

1927, in the meaning defined above