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Definition of shield noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shield

noun
 
/ʃiːld/
 
/ʃiːld/
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  1. a large piece of metal or leather carried by soldiers in the past to protect the body when fighting
    • She did not recognize the coat of arms on his shield.
    Topics Historyc1, War and conflictc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • riot
    verb + shield
    • lower
    • raise
    • be armed with
    preposition
    • behind a/​the shield
    • on a/​the shield
    See full entry
  2. (also riot shield)
    a piece of equipment made from strong plastic, used by the police to protect themselves from angry crowds
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • riot
    verb + shield
    • lower
    • raise
    • be armed with
    preposition
    • behind a/​the shield
    • on a/​the shield
    See full entry
  3. shield (against something) a person or thing used to protect somebody/something, especially by forming a barrier
    • Water is not an effective shield against the sun's more harmful rays.
    • She hid her true feelings behind a shield of cold indifference.
    see also human shield
    Extra Examples
    • The car had acted as a shield, protecting him from the blast.
    • The ozone layer forms a shield against harmful solar rays.
    • The software provides a shield against hackers, worms and viruses.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • defensive
    • protective
    • human
    verb + shield
    • use somebody/​something as
    • form
    • provide
    shield + verb
    • protect
    preposition
    • shield against
    See full entry
  4. a plate or screen that protects a machine or the person using it from damage or injury
    • A heat shield protects the worker’s hands.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • defensive
    • protective
    • human
    verb + shield
    • use somebody/​something as
    • form
    • provide
    shield + verb
    • protect
    preposition
    • shield against
    See full entry
  5. an object in the shape of a shield, given as a prize in a sports competition, etc.
    • The prince presented the shield to the winners.
  6. a drawing or model of a shield showing a coat of arms
  7. (North American English) a police officer’s badgeTopics Law and justicec2
  8. Word OriginOld English scild (noun), scildan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch schild and German Schild, from a base meaning ‘divide, separate’.
See shield in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee shield in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
alloy
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Physics and chemistry
C2
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