How to Use zonal in a Sentence

zonal

adjective
  • We installed a zonal heating system in the house.
  • Ivy geraniums take heat well but not quite as well as their zonal counterparts.
    — Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Dec. 2022
  • Ivy geraniums take heat well but not quite as well as their zonal counterparts.
    — Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Dec. 2022
  • Everyone is in a duel except two or three zonal markers.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 11 May 2026
  • Over the past several days, the upper-level winds in the atmosphere, known as the jet stream, have been zonal -- or more of a west-to-east flow.
    — Pedram Javaheri, CNN, 19 May 2022
  • Denmark were more zonal, especially at the near post, and England flooded that area.
    — Liam Tharme, The Athletic, 3 July 2024
  • The warming slows the zonal winds — the fast, circular winds that normally rotate around the polar vortex.
    — Brandi D. Addison, Freep.com, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Meanwhile, Luke Shaw’s role is to block one of the zonal defenders to facilitate the move.
    — Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Were the zonal flows only on the surface of Jupiter, or did deeper layers of gas flow in stripes of alternating directions too?
    — Erika K Carlson, Discover Magazine, 14 Aug. 2018
  • After sealing those gaps, Taylor runs a zonal pressure diagnostic test.
    — Jon Gorey, BostonGlobe.com, 12 June 2022
  • Ferencvaros also pose a significant threat from set pieces, with a preference for attacking the area around the near post against zonal defences.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Attacking teams have weaponised blocking to target specific zonal markers and facilitate runs for their best headers of the ball.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 11 May 2026
  • These waves, called zonal waves, are influenced by severe weather on Earth’s surface and travel around the upper atmosphere.
    — Joanna Klein, New York Times, 23 June 2017
  • Sean Hogan delights in offering the unusual and pushing the zonal envelope.
    — oregonlive, 8 July 2021
  • The first one played short caught Newcastle by surprise and manipulated their zonal defenders.
    — Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • With Brahim Diaz blocking off a short corner, Mbappe on the edge of the box and five zonal players, the blockers instantly have a problem.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
  • In 2026, complexity is old and busted, and simplified zonal systems are the new hotness.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Brentford switch between a 4-4-2 zonal defensive block and man-to-man pressing, an approach which was honed under Frank, and can be seen across the league.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • At the other end, Villa use zonal defenders around the near post, one player to protect the goalkeeper and two to monitor runs from behind the penalty spot.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
  • At this point, Arsenal would normally rotate their players to find solutions, but against a zonal structure, that doesn’t really work.
    — Jon MacKenzie, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026
  • The open-plan arrangement unites the living area and the kitchen, plus a separate 10-place dining area beyond, while preserving the zonal purposes of each.
    — Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Cut to the chase Taking cuttings from herbs, zonal geraniums or tropical houseplants will quickly and easily increase your plant kingdom.
    — Colleen Smith, The Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2017
  • Chelsea’s aim on this corner is to exploit United’s near-post vulnerability by disrupting their zonal markers.
    — Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Mateta’s role is significant because Chalobah is positioned in the space in front of Ramsdale inside a six-man zonal block that is spread out to cover all zones.
    — Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Still, Madrid persisted with their five zonal markers (in the white box), leaving Modric, Garcia and Brahim to track the runners.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Barcelona used a mix of zonal and man-marking but struggled when teams exploited their comparalative lack of height and physicality by using players in motion.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The lack of support from the zonal defenders has been harming United’s goalkeepers because there are only two man-markers in the defensive setup.
    — Ahmed Walid, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
  • At 18, Fawazz Akhtar is a zonal councilman and youth coordinator at Masjid Aqsa.
    — Tracy Maness, Houston Chronicle, 15 May 2020
  • The Vibram Megagrip rubber outsole, with 5mm lugs and zonal rubber placement, is stout and provided wet and dry traction, but tended to retain mud.
    — Adam Chase, Outside Online, 29 Dec. 2020
  • But from their first corner of the new season against Forest on Saturday, Brentford used four zonal markers (highlighted below).
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'zonal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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