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

1. shield(noun)

   a protective covering or structure

2. shield, buckler(noun)

   armor carried on the arm to intercept blows

3. carapace, shell, cuticle, shield(verb)

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

4. shield, screen(verb)

   protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm

5. harbor, harbour, shield(verb)

   hold back a thought or feeling about

   "She is harboring a grudge against him"

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

1. Shield(noun)

   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. Shield(noun)

   anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection

3. Shield(noun)

   figuratively, one who protects or defends

4. Shield(noun)

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

5. Shield(noun)

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

6. Shield(noun)

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

7. Shield(noun)

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

8. Shield(noun)

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

9. Shield(noun)

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

10. Shield(noun)

    to ward off; to keep off or out

11. Shield(noun)

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

Origin: [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

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

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

Anagrams for shield »

1. Delish

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

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. First Guerra:

   My alba is my shield.

2. Rhea Olsen:

   A good friend can shield you from the storm.

3. Ari Fleischer:

   Humor is both a shield and a sword in politics.

4. Justin Hansford:

   We will be using the sword as well as the shield.

5. Unknown, epitaph for a loved one:

   Love is my Sword, Goodness my Armor, And Humor my Shield.

Images & Illustrations of shield

Popularity rank by frequency of use