SHIELD

[noun] [C] - something that is used as, or provides, protection, esp. a large slightly curved piece of metal, wood, plastic, etc. used by soldiers in the past, or by police officersThe police held up their riot shields against the flying rocks and bricks and homemade petrol bombs.The anti-personnel mines were laid as a protective shield around the town.The ozone layer is a shield which protects the earth against the sun's radiation.Anger can function as a shield against (= a way of avoiding suffering) even more painful emotions of loss and hurt.A shield is also a flat object with two straight sides, a rounded or pointed lower edge and usually a straight top edge, on which there is a coat of arms.A shield is also an object shaped like a shield, which is given as a prize, or used as a badge.Our school won the county football shield this year.The Cambridge University Press shield has four lions on it.