shield
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.
a similar device, often of lightweight plastic, used by riot police to protect themselves from rocks and other thrown objects.
something shaped like a shield, variously round, octagonal, triangular, or somewhat heart-shaped.
a person or thing that protects.
a police officer's, detective's, or sheriff's badge.
Ordnance. a steel screen attached to a gun to protect its crew, mechanism, etc.
Mining. a movable framework for protecting a miner from cave-ins, etc.
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.
Zoology. a protective plate or the like on the body of an animal, as a scute, enlarged scale, etc.
Heraldry. an escutcheon, especially one broad at the top and pointed at the bottom, for displaying armorial bearings.
Shield, Astronomy. the constellation Scutum.
Also called continental shield .Geology. a vast area of ancient crustal rocks which, together with a platform, constitutes a craton.
a protective barrier against nuclear radiation, especially a lead or concrete structure around a reactor.
to protect (someone or something) with or as if with a shield.
to serve as a protection for.
to hide or conceal; protect by hiding.
Obsolete. to avert; forbid.
to act or serve as a shield.
Origin of shield
1Other words from shield
- shielder, noun
- shieldless, adjective
- shield·less·ly, adverb
- shield·less·ness, noun
- shieldlike, adjective
- un·der·shield, noun
- un·shield·ed, adjective
- un·shield·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for shield
/ (ʃiːld) /
any protection used to intercept blows, missiles, etc, such as a tough piece of armour carried on the arm
any similar protective device
Also called: scutcheon, escutcheon heraldry a pointed stylized shield used for displaying armorial bearings
anything that resembles a shield in shape, such as a prize in a sports competition
the protective outer covering of an animal, such as the shell of a turtle
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
a broad stable plateau of ancient Precambrian rocks forming the rigid nucleus of a particular continent: See Baltic Shield, Canadian Shield
short for dress shield
civil engineering a hollow steel cylinder that protects men driving a circular tunnel through loose, soft, or water-bearing ground
the shield informal
Australian short for the Sheffield Shield
NZ short for the Ranfurly Shield
(tr) to protect, hide, or conceal (something) from danger or harm
Origin of shield
1Derived forms of shield
- shielder, noun
- shieldlike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for shield
[ shēld ]
A wall or housing of an absorbing material, such as concrete or lead, built around a nuclear reactor to prevent the escape of radiation.
A structure or arrangement of metal plates or mesh designed to protect a piece of electronic equipment from electrostatic or magnetic interference.
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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