Definitions for shield
ʃildshield

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shieldnoun

   a protective covering or structure

2. shield, bucklernoun

   armor carried on the arm to intercept blows

3. carapace, shell, cuticle, shieldverb

   hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles

4. shield, screenverb

   protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm

5. harbor, harbour, shieldverb

   hold back a thought or feeling about

   "She is harboring a grudge against him"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Shieldnoun

   Etymology: scyld , Saxon.

   1. A buckler; a broad piece of defensive armour held on the left arm to ward off blows.

   Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight
   With hearts more proof than shields. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   2. Defence; protection.3. One that gives protection or security.

   The terror of the Trojan field,
   The Grecian honour, ornament, and shield,
   High on a pile th’ unconquer’d chief is plac’d. Dryden.

2. To Shieldverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To cover with a shield.2. To defend; to protect; to secure.

   Were’t my fitness to let these hands obey my boiling blood,
   They’re apt enough to dislocate and tear
   Thy flesh and bones: howe’er
   A woman’s shape doth shield thee. William Shakespeare, King Lear.

   Shouts of applause ran ringing through the field,
   To see the son the vanquish’d father shield. Dryden.

   Hear one that comes to shield his injur’d honour,
   And guard his life with hazard of her own. Smith.

   3. To keep off; to defend against.

   Out of their cold caves and frozen habitations, into the sweet soil of Europe, they brought with them their usual weeds, fit to shield the cold, to which they had been inured. Edmund Spenser.

   My lord, I must intreat the time alone.
   —— God shield I should disturb devotion. William Shakespeare.

Wikipedia(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Shield

   A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of active blocks, as well as to provide passive protection by closing one or more lines of engagement during combat. Shields vary greatly in size and shape, ranging from large panels that protect the user's whole body to small models (such as the buckler) that were intended for hand-to-hand-combat use. Shields also vary a great deal in thickness; whereas some shields were made of relatively deep, absorbent, wooden planking to protect soldiers from the impact of spears and crossbow bolts, others were thinner and lighter and designed mainly for deflecting blade strikes (like the roromaraugi or qauata). Finally, shields vary greatly in shape, ranging in roundness to angularity, proportional length and width, symmetry and edge pattern; different shapes provide more optimal protection for infantry or cavalry, enhance portability, provide secondary uses such as ship protection or as a weapon and so on. In prehistory and during the era of the earliest civilisations, shields were made of wood, animal hide, woven reeds or wicker. In classical antiquity, the Barbarian Invasions and the Middle Ages, they were normally constructed of poplar tree, lime or another split-resistant timber, covered in some instances with a material such as leather or rawhide and often reinforced with a metal boss, rim or banding. They were carried by foot soldiers, knights and cavalry. Depending on time and place, shields could be round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, bilabial or scalloped. Sometimes they took on the form of kites or flatirons, or had rounded tops on a rectangular base with perhaps an eye-hole, to look through when used with combat. The shield was held by a central grip or by straps with some going over or around the user's arm and one or more being held by the hand. Often shields were decorated with a painted pattern or an animal representation to show their army or clan. These designs developed into systematized heraldic devices during the High Middle Ages for purposes of battlefield identification. Even after the introduction of gunpowder and firearms to the battlefield, shields continued to be used by certain groups. In the 18th century, for example, Scottish Highland fighters liked to wield small shields known as targes, and as late as the 19th century, some non-industrialized peoples (such as Zulu warriors) employed them when waging war. In the 20th and 21st century, shields have been used by military and police units that specialize in anti-terrorist actions, hostage rescue, riot control and siege-breaking.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Shieldnoun

   a broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, -- formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body. See Buckler

2. Shieldnoun

   anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection

3. Shieldnoun

   figuratively, one who protects or defends

4. Shieldnoun

   in lichens, a Hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci

5. Shieldnoun

   the escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms. Cf. Lozenge. See Illust. of Escutcheon

6. Shieldnoun

   a framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses

7. Shieldnoun

   a spot resembling, or having the form of, a shield

8. Shieldnoun

   a coin, the old French crown, or ecu, having on one side the figure of a shield

9. Shieldnoun

   to cover with, or as with, a shield; to cover from danger; to defend; to protect from assault or injury

10. Shieldnoun

    to ward off; to keep off or out

11. Shieldnoun

    to avert, as a misfortune; hence, as a supplicatory exclamation, forbid!

12. Etymology: [OE. sheld, scheld, AS. scield, scild, sceld, scyld; akin to OS. scild, OFries. skeld, D. & G. schild, OHG. scilt, Icel. skjldr, Sw. skld, Dan. skiold, Goth. skildus; of uncertain origin. Cf. Sheldrake.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Shield

   A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace, battle axe or similar weapon to the side of the shield-bearer. Shields vary greatly in size, ranging from large panels that protect the user's entire body to small models that were intended for hand-to-hand-combat use. Shields also vary a great deal in thickness; whereas some shields were made of relatively deep, absorbent, wooden planking to protect soldiers from the impact of spears and crossbow bolts, others were thinner and lighter and designed mainly for deflecting blade strikes. In prehistory and during the era of the earliest civilizations, shields were made of wood, animal hide, woven reeds or wicker. In classical antiquity, the Migration Period and the Middle Ages, they were normally constructed of poplar, lime or another split-resistant timber, covered in some instances with a material such as leather or rawhide and often reinforced with a metal boss, rim or banding. They were carried by foot soldiers, knights and cavalry. Shape wise, depending on time and place, shields could be round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular or scalloped. Sometimes they took on the form of kites, flatirons or figures-of-eight, or had rounded tops on a rectangular base with perhaps an eyehole inserted. The shield was held by a central grip or by straps which went over or around the user's arm

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. shield

   A piece of defensive armor, borne on the left arm, to ward off the strokes of the sword and of missiles. It has been constantly used from ancient times, through the Middle Ages, till the invention of fire-arms. The large shield worn by the Greeks and Romans (clipeus) was circular, and often ornamented with devices. Another form of shield (scutum) was used by the Roman heavy-armed infantry, square, but bent to encircle the body. The early shield or knightly escutcheon of the Middle Ages was circular in outline, and convex, with a boss in the centre; the body generally of wood, and the rim of metal. There were many other kinds of shields, made of leather, wood, basket-work, etc., employed up to the introduction of fire-arms, when they became practically useless, although some savage nations employ shields at the present time.

2. shield

   To cover, as with a shield; to cover from danger; to defend; to protect; to secure from assault or injury.

Matched Categories

1. • Hide
   • Protect
   • Protective Covering

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'shield' in Nouns Frequency: #2206

How to pronounce shield?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say shield in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of shield in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of shield in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of shield in a Sentence

1. Jon Meacham:

   He was our shield in danger's hour, an imperfect man, he left us a more perfect union.

2. Adam Schiff:

   The President has the constitutional authority to confer pardons and commutations, but that power is not unlimited, and was provided to remedy injustices, not to cover up for a president or shield The President from potential criminal liability.

3. Chrysti Shain:

   Fourteen states have shield laws that protect company identities in order to carry out death penalty orders. The department has not had execution drugs since 2013, when our last drugs expired. Also, drugs the department obtained from another country were seized by the US Drug Enforcement Administration in 2011.

4. Chris Evans:

   Captain America here, so I read your story, I saw what you did and I'm sure you heard a lot of this over the last couple days, but let me be the next one to tell you, pal, you're a hero, what you did was so brave, so selfless, your sister is so lucky to have you as a big brother. Your parents must be so proud of you, i'm going to track down your address and I'm going to send you an authentic Captain America shield because pal, you deserve it.

5. Francisco Sagasti:

   Do not be afraid of the vaccine. The vaccine is the best shield, we are betting as much as possible that all Peruvians can be vaccinated this year.

Popularity rank by frequency of use