shield

American  

[sheeld] / ʃild /

noun

• shields
  plural

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)

• shields,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shielded,
  past participle,  past
• shielding
  present participle

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)

• shields,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shielded,
  past participle,  past
• shielding
  present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shields
  plural

Participles

• shielding
  present
• shielded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shield
  simple
• shields
  simple
• have shielded
  perfect
• has shielded
  perfect
• am shielding
  progressive
• are shielding
  progressive
• is shielding
  progressive
• have been shielding
  perfect progressive
• has been shielding
  perfect progressive

Past

• shielded
  simple
• had shielded
  perfect
• was shielding
  progressive
• were shielding
  progressive
• had been shielding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shield
  simple
• will have shielded
  perfect
• will be shielding
  progressive
• will have been shielding
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

shield shields shielded shielding

The other side of the coin features a version of the US presidential seal, depicting an eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch while covered by a shield that says "250."

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Calling something an estimate doesn’t shield a company from scrutiny either.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

According to the paper, he is looking to plug a hole in public finances and shield individuals from direct tax increases.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Wary and watchful, Pete wants to reconnect with his son, but he has carried his own grief and fury for so long that they have become more shield than catalyst.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Nine had tried to shield him from this mess, and Clare felt he owed the rat honesty in return.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

The telescope is already enclosed inside Falcon Heavy's protective fairing, the shell that surrounds a spacecraft during launch and shields it from aerodynamic forces and the atmosphere.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

“I don’t think it shields the government from liability in total,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Together, these cases established a consistent rule: Federal authority shields private actors from state accountability only when federal involvement is real, specific, and congressionally authorized.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Pictures from the protest show policemen holding shields trying to stop the students as they marched towards the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, a Jakarta landmark.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

Now he distinguished outlines of shields hanging from the walls and piles of swords and spears.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Its heads are usually shielded from sunlight by the leaves, but in this year more light is reaching them and turning them yellow.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The catering truck, which typically loads in-flight meals, parked on the right side of Air Force One, partially shielded from media cameras.

From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026

Some napped on a beach with their faces shielded from the sun by plastic bags or T-shirts, while others rested with backpacks tucked beneath their heads.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

It would dramatically raise the amount of home value that’s shielded from property taxes, going from the current $25,000 to $150,000 next year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

I shielded my eyes from Inti and looked upward.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis

The plastic table she has set up to try to sell a few last items brought from home, and the umbrella shielding her from the relentless sun, were bought with donations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Mayor Karen Bass’ press relations office communicates through WhatsApp messages that auto-delete every 24 hours, potentially shielding the messages from public records requests, according to three sources familiar with the office.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Maduro's attorney Barry Pollack signalled that he will argue at trial that his client was protected by sovereign immunity, a legal principle shielding heads of state from prosecution.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

All your traffic is routed through a remote server, masking your IP address and shielding your online activity from prying eyes.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

My voice breaks awkwardly on the word cheese, and I duck my head, shielding my face behind a curtain of hair.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Related Words

• conceal
• cover
• defend
• safeguard
• shelter