Meaning & use
frontcourt in basketball
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablesport
The half of the court containing the basket a team attacks, or the players who play near it.
Grammar: Countable when you mean a half of the court ('the frontcourts'), uncountable when you mean the group of players.
Patterns
- in the frontcourt
- the frontcourt players
- control the frontcourt
The point guard pushed the ball into the frontcourt before the defense could set up.
Their frontcourt of two tall forwards dominated the boards all night.
He caught the pass just across the half-court line, in the frontcourt.
nounsingularsport
The three positions played closest to the basket: small forward, power forward, and center.
Grammar: Usually singular and used with a plural verb when it refers to the players: 'the frontcourt are struggling'.
Patterns
- a strong frontcourt
- start in the frontcourt
The team's frontcourt scored 52 of their 90 points.
Injuries have left their frontcourt very thin this season.
Coaches often rotate the frontcourt to keep the big men fresh.
Word forms
| plural | frontcourts |
|---|
Common combinations
- in the frontcourt
- She received the ball in the frontcourt and drove to the rim.
- frontcourt player
- A frontcourt player usually spends most of the game near the basket.
- frontcourt depth
- Trading their center cost the team frontcourt depth.
- bring the ball up the frontcourt
- He brought the ball up the frontcourt and called a play.
- frontcourt matchup
- The frontcourt matchup between the two centers decided the game.
Synonyms and how they differ
- paint
- Refers only to the marked area near the basket, not the whole attacking half or the group of big players.
- post
- Means the area right next to the basket where big players work; the frontcourt is the whole attacking half.
Opposites
Word family
- backcourt noun
- The other half of the court, or the team's guards.
Commonly confused: frontcourt in basketball or backcourt?
frontcourt in basketball vs backcourt
The backcourt is the half a team defends and the guards who play there; the frontcourt is the half it attacks and the big players.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'frontcourt' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Frontcourt' is the attacking half of the court, so a guard can dribble into it and pass. The other options confuse it with the floor surface, the goal itself, or the bench.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frontcourt in basketball”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.