shield
Americannoun
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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.
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a similar device, often of lightweight plastic, used by riot police to protect themselves from rocks and other thrown objects.
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something shaped like a shield, variously round, octagonal, triangular, or somewhat heart-shaped.
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a person or thing that protects.
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a police officer's, detective's, or sheriff's badge.
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Ordnance. a steel screen attached to a gun to protect its crew, mechanism, etc.
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Mining. a movable framework for protecting a miner from cave-ins, etc.
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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.
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Zoology. a protective plate or the like on the body of an animal, as a scute, enlarged scale, etc.
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Heraldry. an escutcheon, especially one broad at the top and pointed at the bottom, for displaying armorial bearings.
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Astronomy. Shield, the constellation Scutum.
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Also called continental shield. Geology. a vast area of ancient crustal rocks which, together with a platform, constitutes a craton.
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a protective barrier against nuclear radiation, especially a lead or concrete structure around a reactor.
verb (used with object)
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to protect (someone or something) with or as if with a shield.
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to serve as a protection for.
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to hide or conceal; protect by hiding.
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Obsolete. to avert; forbid.
verb (used without object)
noun
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any protection used to intercept blows, missiles, etc, such as a tough piece of armour carried on the arm
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any similar protective device
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Also called: scutcheon. escutcheon. heraldry a pointed stylized shield used for displaying armorial bearings
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anything that resembles a shield in shape, such as a prize in a sports competition
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the protective outer covering of an animal, such as the shell of a turtle
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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
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a broad stable plateau of ancient Precambrian rocks forming the rigid nucleus of a particular continent See Baltic Shield Canadian Shield
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short for dress shield
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civil engineering a hollow steel cylinder that protects men driving a circular tunnel through loose, soft, or water-bearing ground
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informal
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short for the Sheffield Shield
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short for the Ranfurly Shield
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verb
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A wall or housing of an absorbing material, such as concrete or lead, built around a nuclear reactor to prevent the escape of radiation.
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A structure or arrangement of metal plates or mesh designed to protect a piece of electronic equipment from electrostatic or magnetic interference.
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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
- 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
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.
But technically, it’s also supposed to help shield the company from legal jeopardy.
From MarketWatch
With generous federal estate-tax exemptions made permanent in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, trusts that were created years ago to shield wealth from onerous federal estate taxes may be obsolete.
From Barron's
Many airlines shield themselves from volatility in the price of fuel, which makes up a large part of their operational costs, by hedging it, usually using financial derivatives to try to spread their risk.
From MarketWatch
Its new marketing tactics still haven’t been enough to shield Lucid from a challenging EV environment.
From Los Angeles Times
Interns must learn how to address their patients carefully and honestly, both out of a sense of empathy and to shield the hospital from legal liability.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
