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full-court press

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full-court press

1. A strategy in basketball in which the defensive team applies pressure on the offensive team across the entire court. We were down by 15, so we ran a full-court press and started to create some turnovers.

2. By extension, an aggressive or increased effort to win or accomplish something. Congress pulled out a full-court press in an effort to get the bill passed.

See also: press

full-court press

An all-out effort to exert pressure. For example, She'd learned over the years how to deliver a full-court press of guilt. The term alludes to a basketball tactic in which the defenders put pressure on the opposing team over the entire court, trying to disrupt their dribbling and passing. [Late 1900s]

See also: press