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human shield

American

noun

a person or group of people located or intentionally placed in a potential line of fire or in an area likely to be attacked.

Etymology

Origin of human shield

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Up to now, Martin has been a human shield, an easy punchbag, but for all the animosity he drew no Rangers fan thinks that the club's problems began and ended with him.

From BBC • Oct. 5, 2025

Greg, on the other hand, is a tool – frequently a whipping boy, sometimes a human shield, lately a corporate guillotine.

From Salon • May 15, 2023

The professors encircled the students, locking arms to form a human shield around them.

From New York Times • Oct. 6, 2022

“If successful,” Nebenzya said, Russian troops and the inspectors “would have become the human shield of the saboteurs.”

From Washington Post • Sep. 6, 2022

Kyle, Akimi, and Sierra formed a human shield to hide their Bibliomania box.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023