shield

American  

[sheeld] / ʃild /

noun

1. a broad piece of armor, varying widely in form and size, carried apart from the body, usually on the left arm, as a defense against swords, lances, arrows, etc.

2. a similar device, often of lightweight plastic, used by riot police to protect themselves from rocks and other thrown objects.

3. something shaped like a shield, variously round, octagonal, triangular, or somewhat heart-shaped.

4. a person or thing that protects.

5. a police officer's, detective's, or sheriff's badge.

6. Ordnance. a steel screen attached to a gun to protect its crew, mechanism, etc.

7. Mining. a movable framework for protecting a miner from cave-ins, etc.

8. Electricity. a covering, usually made of metal, placed around an electric device or circuit in order to reduce the effects of external electric and magnetic fields.

9. Zoology. a protective plate or the like on the body of an animal, as a scute, enlarged scale, etc.

10. dress shield.

11. Heraldry. an escutcheon, especially one broad at the top and pointed at the bottom, for displaying armorial bearings.

12. Astronomy. Shield, the constellation Scutum.

13. Also called continental shield.  Geology. a vast area of ancient crustal rocks which, together with a platform, constitutes a craton.

14. a protective barrier against nuclear radiation, especially a lead or concrete structure around a reactor.

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verb (used with object)

1. to protect (someone or something) with or as if with a shield.

2. to serve as a protection for.

3. to hide or conceal; protect by hiding.

4. Obsolete. to avert; forbid.

verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a shield.

shield British  

/ ʃiːld /

noun

1. any protection used to intercept blows, missiles, etc, such as a tough piece of armour carried on the arm

2. any similar protective device

3. Also called: scutcheon.   escutcheon.  heraldry a pointed stylized shield used for displaying armorial bearings

4. anything that resembles a shield in shape, such as a prize in a sports competition

5. the protective outer covering of an animal, such as the shell of a turtle

6. physics a structure of concrete, lead, etc, placed around a nuclear reactor or other source of radiation in order to prevent the escape of radiation

7. a broad stable plateau of ancient Precambrian rocks forming the rigid nucleus of a particular continent See Baltic Shield Canadian Shield

8. short for dress shield

9. civil engineering a hollow steel cylinder that protects men driving a circular tunnel through loose, soft, or water-bearing ground

10. informal

    1. short for the Sheffield Shield

    2. short for the Ranfurly Shield

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verb

1. (tr) to protect, hide, or conceal (something) from danger or harm

shield Scientific  

/ shēld /

1. A wall or housing of an absorbing material, such as concrete or lead, built around a nuclear reactor to prevent the escape of radiation.

2. A structure or arrangement of metal plates or mesh designed to protect a piece of electronic equipment from electrostatic or magnetic interference.

3. A large geographic area where rocks of a continent's craton (the ancient, relatively undisturbed portion of a continental plate) are visible at the surface. A shield is often surrounded by platforms covered with sediment.

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Other Word Forms

• shielder
  noun
• shieldless
  adjective
• shieldlessly
  adverb
• shieldlessness
  noun
• shieldlike
  adjective
• undershield
  noun
• unshielded
  adjective
• unshielding
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of shield

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English shelde, Old English sceld; cognate with Dutch, German Schild, Gothic skildus; (verb) Middle English shelden, Old English sceldan, scildan, derivative of the noun

Explanation

A shield is a cover that protects whatever is behind or beneath it. If you carry a shield you might be a knight, or a traffic cop who likes to flash the badge. Ancestors of the word shield include the Old English scild, similar to sciell, or "shell," which suggests the meaning of the word. If you're a turtle, you might use your shell as a shield. But a shield doesn't have to be something physical. Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, "Love is my sword, goodness my armor, and humor my shield." The word can also be used as a verb. You might shield your tender ears from hearing naughty words. Don't worry, shield is perfectly safe.

Example Sentences

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are among the bitcoin pioneers betting big on the so-called privacy token, which lets users shield their transaction details.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

For other interactions, like bringing food and requested blankets, staff are similarly "garbed up, not in hazmat suits, but they are garbed up in a better mask and a shield and that kind of stuff".

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Surging U.S. seaborne oil exports and China’s willingness to pare back on its own seaborne imports have also helped shield the world from higher prices.

From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026

In a bid to shield the nation from "global price volatility", Australia's largest gas firms will be forced to ring fence fuel for the domestic market -- equivalent to 20 percent of their exports.

From Barron's • May 7, 2026

A shield with a red dragon painted on it hung above the mantel.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Related Words

• conceal
• cover
• defend
• safeguard
• shelter