shield

 
Pronunciation: /ʃiːld/

noun

  • 1a broad piece of metal or another suitable material, held by straps or a handle attached on one side, used as a protection against blows or missiles.
  • a sporting trophy shaped like a shield, consisting of an engraved metal plate mounted on a piece of wood: team captain Ben Hall collected the winners' shield
  • a US police officer’s badge.
  • Heraldry a stylized representation of a shield used for displaying a coat of arms.
  • 2a person or thing providing protection: a coating of grease provides a shield against abrasive dirt
  • a protective plate or screen on machinery or equipment: a face shield is sometimes an integral part of a safety helmet
  • a device or material that prevents or reduces the emission of light or other radiation: water is a relatively good shield against cosmic rays
  • a hard flat or convex part of an animal, especially a shell: the horseshoe crab’s armour forms a huge domed shield
  • 3 Geology a large rigid area of the earth’s crust, typically of Precambrian rock, which has been unaffected by later orogenic episodes, e.g. the Canadian Shield.

verb

[with object]
  • protect from a danger, risk, or unpleasant experience: he pulled the cap lower to shield his eyes from the glare these people have been completely shielded from economic forces
  • prevent from being seen: the rocks she sat behind shielded her from the lodge
  • enclose or screen (a piece of machinery) to protect the user: cylindrical ducts shield the propellers
  • prevent or reduce the escape of sound, light, or other radiation from (something): uranium shutters shield the cobalt radioactive source

Derivatives

shieldless

adjective

Origin:

Old English scild (noun), scildan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schild and German Schild, from a base meaning 'divide, separate'

Spelling rule

i before e, except after c (as in thief).