on defense
idiom
sports
: on the part of a team that defends the goal
She began the season on defense, but her coach later put her on offense.
Examples of on defense in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Arkansas had an open date before traveling to Lexington and Calipari said the Razorbacks primarily worked on defense.
—
Wally Hall, arkansasonline.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Despite his height and remarkable wingspan, he could get lost on defense sometimes.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 7 Feb. 2025
His athleticism and instinctive nature on defense makes scoring against the Knights a challenging task for any opposing team.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025
This Jayhawks squad is undoubtedly built on defense, but ISU’s struggles to score went far beyond good defense by KU.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for on defense 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Wally Hall, arkansasonline.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Despite his height and remarkable wingspan, he could get lost on defense sometimes.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 7 Feb. 2025
His athleticism and instinctive nature on defense makes scoring against the Knights a challenging task for any opposing team.
—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2025
This Jayhawks squad is undoubtedly built on defense, but ISU’s struggles to score went far beyond good defense by KU.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 4 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for on defense
Dictionary Entries Near on defense
Cite this Entry
“On defense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20defense. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share