What does "shield" mean?
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.
Shield
/ʃiːld/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: shield is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: buckler, achievement, advocate, aegis.
- Useful contrasts: electromagnetic radiation sources, living subject, local market disruption.
- Usage evidence: Look on both sides of the shield.
How to use "shield"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shield" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shield" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shield" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shield" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shield" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "buckler" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shield", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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."
- 2 hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles wordnet
- 3 Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.; One who protects or defends. figuratively
"Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
- 4 armor carried on the arm to intercept blows wordnet
- 5 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.
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 a protective covering or structure wordnet
- 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 Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.; A field of energy that protects or defends.
"Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same. Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair."
- 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"
- 10 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 toilet seat. Scotland, euphemistic, obsolete
- 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 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 coin, the old French crown, or écu, having on one side the figure of a shield. obsolete
- 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 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. colloquial
"The chief put something in his hand and Bosch looked down to see the gold detective's shield."
- 15 A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
- 16 A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.; A wide and relatively low-profiled volcano, usually composed entirely of lava flows.
- 17 A place with a toilet seat: an outhouse; a lavatory. Scotland, euphemistic, figuratively, obsolete
- 18 Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision British, English
Verb
- 1 To protect, to defend. ambitransitive
"Sunscreen shields against the harmful effects of solar rays."
- 2 protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm wordnet
- 3 To shelter; to protect oneself. UK, intransitive
"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."
- 4 hold back a thought or feeling about wordnet
- 5 To protect from the influence of.
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Look on both sides of the shield."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shield"?
Common synonyms include: buckler, achievement, advocate, aegis, alerion, animal charge.
How do you use "shield" in a sentence?
Look on both sides of the shield.
How do you pronounce "shield"?
Pronounced /ʃiːld/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English scheld, shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeldu, from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“cut, split”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skyld (“shield”), Bavarian Schuid (“shield”), Dutch schild (“shield”), German and Low German Schild (“shield”), Luxembourgish Schëld (“shield”), Yiddish שילד (shild, “shield”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skjold (“shield”), Elfdalian stjöld (“shield”), Faroese skjøldur (“shield”), Gutnish skiåld (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”), Swedish sköld (“shield”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skildus, “shield”). Compare Breton skoed (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Scottish Gaelic sgiath (“shield”), Latin scūtum (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”), Belarusian шчыт (ščyt, “shield”), Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian щит (ščyt, “shield”), Czech and Slovak štít (“shield”), Macedonian штит (štit, “shield”), Polish szczyt (“shield”), Serbo-Croatian штит, štit, ščit (“shield”), Slovene ščit (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English shelden, from Old English scildan.