shields

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of shield.

   The Roman soldiers locked their shields together to form a wall.

   Tunnel crews worked inside steel shields that were pushed forward as the digging advanced.

   Note

   The plural keeps every meaning of the singular, and several belong to specialists. Botanists use it for the rimmed cups on lichens that hold their spore sacs, tunnel builders for the movable frames that guard a crew, and heralds for the escutcheons that carry a coat of arms. Protective energy fields are shields too. The same spelling serves the present-tense verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of shield.

   The new law shields small businesses from sudden rent increases.

   A thick lead apron shields the patient during the X-ray.

   Note

   It usually takes an object, with from naming the danger: the law shields tenants from eviction. British English also uses it with no object, meaning to shelter or keep oneself protected, as in she shields at home. A third use is about blocking an influence rather than an attack: a metal case shields the wiring from interference.

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