shield

noun

1. 1

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A broad piece of defensive armor, held in hand, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.

   Knock go and come; God's vassals drop and die; And sword and shield, In bloody field, Doth win immortal fame.

   The shields used by our Norman ancestors were the triangular or heater shield, the target or buckler, the roundel or rondache, and the pavais, pavache, or tallevas.

   My client welcomed the judge […] and they disappeared together into the Ethiopian card-room, which was filled with the assegais and exclamation point shields Mr. Cooke had had made at the sawmill at Beaverton.

   Beowulf, behind his shield, thrust forth only his right arm.

2. 2

   figurativeAnything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. One who protects or defends.

   Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

   Go muster men. My counsel is my shield; We must be brief when traitors brave the field.

3. 3

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A featherless, flat, fleshy protuberance on the head; a frontal shield.

4. 4

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A flattish patch of iridescent feathers.

5. 5

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A heavily hardened, protective plate on an insect's exoskeleton that covers part of its body.

6. 6

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.

7. 7

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.

   The earth was excavated from the sunken cylinder; the shield was inserted into it, and the tunnelling began, the target being Wapping, on the opposite bank. The shield was an iron honeycomb containing thirty-six cells within which men dug the wall of mud before them.

8. 8

   Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. A field of energy that protects or defends.

9. 9

   A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. The escutcheon on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms.

   Meronyms: field, charge, emblem

   The second and third quarters of the shield are indecipherable on the stone but clearer in two other representations of the arms, a painted wooden funeral hatchment for Mary Davie[…]

10. 10

    obsoleteA shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. A toilet seat.

11. 11

    A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. A spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.

    Bespotted as with shields of red and black.

12. 12

    obsoleteA shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. A coin, the old French crown, or écu, having on one side the figure of a shield.

13. 13

    A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. A sign or symbol, usually containing numbers and sometimes letters, identifying a highway route.

14. 14

    A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos. A police badge.

    The chief put something in his hand and Bosch looked down to see the gold detective's shield.

15. 15

    A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.

16. 16

    A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock. A wide and relatively low-profiled volcano, usually composed entirely of lava flows.

17. 17

    figurativeA place with a toilet seat: an outhouse; a lavatory.

18. 18

    Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision

19. 19

    A circuit board that can connect to an Arduino microcontroller and extend its capabilities.

verb

1. 1

   To protect, to defend.

   Sunscreen shields against the harmful effects of solar rays.

   Shots rang out and a 15-year-old boy, shielding a woman from the line of fire, was killed.

2. 2

   To shelter; to protect oneself.

   The government has updated its guidance for people who are shielding taking into account that COVID-19 disease levels have decreased over the last few weeks.

3. 3

   To protect from the influence of.

Forms

plural

shields

past tense

shielded

past participle

shielded

present participle

shielding

third person singular

shields