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.

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]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Gaye (2)	-	Turkish
Lan	-	Chinese, Vietnamese
Sallie	SAL-ee	English
Rupa	-	Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Nepali
Henna	HEN-nah	Finnish
Augustas	-	Lithuanian