shield

[sheeld]

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.

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

/ 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

verb

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

shield

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shield¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shield¹

Old English scield; related to Old Norse skjöldr, Gothic skildus, Old High German scilt shield, Old English sciell _shell

Example Sentences

In my rush out the door, I’d grabbed my baseball cap, with the logo for my preferred presidential candidate on it, to shield my eyes from the sun’s glare.

Read more on Salon

Earth is lucky to have a magnetic field that shields the planet -- and everything living on it -- from dangerous cosmic radiation.

Read more on Science Daily

He said the U.S. would deploy a next-generation missile shield—a “Golden Dome” for America—and called on allies to increase cooperation on missile defense technology.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

During the attack he tried to shield his girlfriend Mapal Adam and was also shot, but survived by playing dead for hours.

Read more on BBC

Parents also have tools, including the ability to configure settings on streaming accounts to try to shield children from inappropriate content.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conceal 
• cover 
• defend 
• safeguard 
• shelter 
• ward off