full-court press

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full-court press

(fo͝ol′kôrt′)

1. Basketball An aggressive defensive strategy in which one or two players harass the ball handler in the backcourt while the rest of the team maintains a close man-to-man or zone defense.

2. A strong, concerted effort: "The Administration undertook a full-court press to secure congressional approval" (Abraham F. Lowenthal).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

full-court press

(Basketball) basketball the tactic of harrying the opposing team in all areas of the court, as opposed to the more usual practice of trying to defend one's own basket

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

full′-court` press′

1. a basketball defense in which the team without the ball pressures the opponent the entire length of the court.

2. a vigorous attack or offensive; strong pressure.

[1950–55]

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References in periodicals archive ?

We must stop their dangerous duo even if it means going full-court press.'

Kenya Morans seek to clinch inaugural Afrocan title against DRC tonight

WASHINGTON It took last-minute changes and a full-court press by top Democratic leaders, but the House passed with relative ease Tuesday a $4.5 billion emergency border aid package to care for thousands of migrant families and unaccompanied children detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

WASHINGTON - It took last-minute changes and a full-court press by top Democrati

At a full-court press conference, held on Saturday, the prime minister's adviser on finance was flanked by a large team consisting of everyone from the FBR chairman to the power minister, and spoke for almost an hour trying to address concerns and engage in some early public messaging on what is to come in the next few months.

Ambitious revenue target

"Really, this has been a full-court press by the president," Bolton added.

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We can press forward, backward, up, down, left, right, sideways, from the inside-out, from the outside-in, full-court press, half-court press or press any which way.

TO PRESS OR PULL?

Sources close to Lohan, who currently lives in Dubai, told TMZ that her friends are making a full-court press to get her back with people who will take care of her.

Lindsay Lohan's friends alarmed at her mental health

Part of UP's struggles in the fourth was the Blue Eagles' suffocating full-court press, and that kind of pressure defense was what Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin wanted from his players.

Ateneo remains unblemished after dismantling UP

In which sport might you see a 'Alley-oop', a 'half-court shot' or a 'full-court press'?

Sports Quiz

HOUSTON--As if Houston's food retailing scene were not intense enough already, hard discount grocer Aldi is expanding rapidly in the market as part of a full-court press it is applying across the United States.

Low-price grocers turn up heat

Yet parents everywhere are putting the full-court press on their kids to be perfect, fixating on raising them to be smarter, faster, more successful, and more popular than their peers.