shield

Pluralshields

Formsshields, shielding, shielded

1. 1
   battle armornouncountable

   A broad piece of defensive armor held in the hand to protect the body, formerly in general use in war.

   The knight crouched behind his shield as arrows rained down from the walls.

   The soldiers locked their shields together and pushed against the enemy line.

   Note

   Francis Grose in 1786 lists the shields the Normans used, among them the triangular heater shield, the target or buckler, and the roundel. It pairs with the weapon it answered, as in the "sword and shield" of Shakespeare's Henry V, and the fighter stands behind it: in Norma Lorre Goodrich's 1961 retelling of Beowulf, the hero shelters behind his shield and reaches out with only his right arm.

2. 2
   protectverbtransitive or intransitive

   To protect or defend someone or something, keeping harm away.

   The bodyguard stepped forward to shield the senator from the crowd.

   A thick layer of mulch shields against frost during the coldest weeks.

   UsageShield someone from danger, or something shields against harm.

   Similarprotect, guard, screen, shelter, defend

   Oppositeexpose

   Note

   The verb comes down separately from Old English scildan, so it is as old as the noun rather than a later conversion of it. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • The modern verb descends through Middle English from Old English scildan. en.wiktionary.org
   • Both noun and verb existed in Old English; the modern verb is inherited rather than newly converted from the modern noun. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   defensenouncountable

   Anything that protects or defends, or the protection and shelter it provides.

   A row of pines along the north edge of the farm serves as a shield against winter storms.

   Many investors buy gold as a shield against inflation.

   UsageThe threat usually follows against: a shield against inflation.

   Similarprotection, safeguard, barrier, defence, buffer

   Note

   Here the armor leaves the battlefield. What began as the warrior's hand-held defense now names anything that takes the blow on someone's behalf, whether the threat is weather, rising prices or public attention. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The protective image derives from a warrior's handheld shield. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   energy fieldnouncountable

   In science fiction, a field of energy that protects or defends something, such as a ship or a person.

   Our shields are down to half power, and another hit could breach the hull.

   The soldier's suit generated a personal shield that deflected the first volley of rounds.

   UsageOften plural: the shields are down, raise the shields.

   Note

   Science fiction can give the field a technical name and still call it shields in ordinary talk: in BioWare's Mass Effect (2007) the devices are kinetic barriers, "colloquially called 'shields.'" Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Mass Effect was developed by BioWare and first released in 2007. en.wikipedia.org
   • The game's codex calls kinetic barriers shields, using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   verbtransitive

   In electricity, to protect a wire, circuit, or device from the influence of outside electric or magnetic fields.

   Designers shield the sensor's wiring from the motor's electrical interference.

   The audio cable is shielded with a layer of braided copper that keeps out stray noise.

   UsageCommon as shielded cable; the threat follows from or against: shielded from interference.

   Similarscreen

   Note

   Engineers do this by wrapping a cable or device in a conducting layer, such as braided copper or metal foil, often connected to ground, so that outside electrical interference disturbs the signals inside far less.

6. 6
   coat of armsnouncountable

   In heraldry, the escutcheon: the surface of a coat of arms on which its bearings are placed.

   The first quarter of the shield carries a red lion for the father's line.

   Weather had worn the carving so smooth that the charges on the shield could barely be made out.

   Similarescutcheon

   Note

   Heraldry names every part of the shield. The background is the field and the figures placed on it are charges, so a coat of arms is read as charges on a field. A shield may also be divided into quarters, counted in order, which is how a description can point to the second and third quarters of a carved or painted shield. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Heraldry gives names to the parts of a shield. ihgs.ac.uk
   • The background is the field, and designs placed on it are charges. coafus.org
   • A shield can be divided into quarters. gutenberg.org
   • Quarters are numbered in a defined order, allowing descriptions to identify particular quarters. en.wikipedia.org
7. 7
   verbUKintransitive

   To take shelter, or to protect oneself from something harmful.

   Patients with weakened immune systems were advised to shield at home during the winter.

   My mum has been shielding for months, so the family does her shopping and leaves it on the doorstep.

   UsagePeople shield or are shielding, often at home; shielding also works as a noun.

   Similarisolate, shelter

   Note

   In 2020 this became the language of British government guidance, which addressed "people who are shielding": the clinically extremely vulnerable, keeping away from COVID-19. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • British government guidance used shielding terminology in 2020. gov.uk
   • Government material used the exact phrase "people who are shielding." gov.uk
   • Shielding guidance concerned clinically extremely vulnerable people protecting themselves from COVID-19. local.gov.uk
8. 8
   shaped marknouncountable

   A spot or marking that resembles a shield or has its shape.

   A pale shield on the bird's throat sets the male apart from the female.

   The beetle's black wing cases are marked with small red shields.

9. 9
   ancient rocknouncountable

   A large area of stable Precambrian rock exposed at the earth's surface.

   The Canadian Shield, scraped bare by ice sheets, is dotted with thousands of lakes.

   Geologists study the shield to learn how the earliest continents formed.

   Note

   Precambrian places the rock before the Cambrian period, in the earth's earliest history, and stable means it has long escaped the folding and faulting that raise mountains. Exposed is the other key word: a shield is where that ancient foundation lies bare, while elsewhere the same old rock is usually buried under younger layers. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Precambrian rocks predate the Cambrian period. pgi.gov.pl
   • The Precambrian covers Earth's earliest history. en.wikipedia.org
   • Shields have long been relatively unaffected by mountain-building deformation. en.wikipedia.org
   • Folding and faulting are associated with mountain building. uh.edu
   • Shields expose ancient basement rocks, while adjoining platforms cover similar rocks with younger sedimentary layers. sites.class.unt.edu

Showing meanings only. Show all 17