shield /shēld/

1. A piece of armour, a broad plate carried to deflect weapons, esp one with a straight top and tapering curved sides
2. A protective plate, screen, pad, or other guard
3. The outer protective covering of certain animals, such as the carapace of a tortoise
4. Someone or something that protects from damage or danger
5. A tubular framework that supports the ground and protects workers during tunnelling
6. A shield-shaped design or object, eg an escutcheon used for displaying arms, or a piece of plate awarded as a prize
7. The large stable area of Precambrian rocks that forms the central part of a continent
8. A policeman's badge (US)

1. To protect by sheltering
2. To hide from view
3. To ward off
4. To forfend (Shakespeare)

shielˈder noun

shielˈding noun (nuclear eng; radiology)

Protective use of materials of low atomic number to reduce the energy of strong neutron beams, or of concrete, lead or other heavy materials to shield against radiation

shieldˈless adjective

shieldˈlike adjective

shieldˈling noun

A protected person

shieldˈ-arm noun

The left arm

shieldˈ-bearer noun

An attendant who carries a warrior's shield

shield bug noun

Any heteropterous insect of the superfamily Pentatomoidea, typically having flat, broad bodies shaped like heraldic shields

• step-downs
• stepfather
• stepfathers
• step fault
• step faults
• step function
• step functions
• stephane
• stephanes
• stephanite
• stephanites
• stephanotis
• stephanotises
• step in
• step-in
• step into
• step into someone's shoes
• step into the breach
• stepladder
• stepladders
• stepmother
• stepmotherly
• stepmothers
• stepney
• stepneys