full-court press

noun

ˈfu̇l-ˈkȯrt- 

1

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

2

: an all-out effort or offensive

Examples of full-court press in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Terps’ style of defense, which emphasizes stressing ball handlers and creating turnovers with a full-court press, matches up well against Grand Canyon’s shaky offense. —Bennett Conlin, Baltimore Sun, 16 Mar. 2025

DePaul Prep rallied, though, flustering the Crusaders with a full-court press. —Steve Millar, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025

President Donald Trump’s Oval Office thrashing of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday laid bare the limits of a full-court press by America’s allies aimed at reshaping Trump’s determination to end Russia’s invasion even if the terms are not to Ukraine’s liking. —Zeke Miller, The Denver Post, 1 Mar. 2025

Coach Ramez Michail’s under-sized squad played 2-2-1 and man-to-man full-court presses in holding Anaheim to a season-low matching 24 points. —Dan Albano, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for full-court press

• abs
• acquiesce
• ancestress
• authoress
• coalesce
• decompress
• dispossess
• faithfulness
• letterpress
• mayoress
• murderess
• nonetheless