A shield is a hand-held protective device meant to intercept attacks. Shield may also refer to: Forms of protection From attack Human shield, the use of civilians to deter an attack in warfare Riot shield, used by police forces around the world for crowd control purposes From radiation Cold shield, used to protect an object from radiative heating Electromagnetic shielding, the use of conductive material to block electromagnetic fields Lead shielding, the use of lead as a form of radiation protection Radiation shield, protection against ionizing radiation Shielded cable, electrical conductors enclosed by a conductive layer Other forms of protection Dalkon Shield, a contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD) Gravitational shield, a hypothetical process of shielding an object from the influence of a gravitational field Heat shield, which protects a spacecraft or ballistic missile Tunnelling shield, used in excavation through soft soil Shielding, or cocooning, action taken by those who are clinically extremely vulnerable in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic Currency Écu ("shield" in French), unit of currency, historically used in France Escudo ("shield" in Portuguese and Spanish), unit of currency, historically used in Portugal, Spain, and their former colonies, and still used in Cape Verde to this day Scudo (disambiguation) ("shield" in Italian), a unit of currency, historically used in Bolivia, several former Italian states, and Malta Shield nickel, the first United States five cent piece to be made out of copper-nickel Geography and geology Shield (geology), a large area of exposed rocks that is tectonically stable Shield Nunatak, a prominent nunatak in Antarctica Shield volcano, a type of volcano usually built almost entirely of fluid lava flows Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities Shield (Archie Comics), one of several fictional patriotic superheroes Shield (Artemis Fowl), in the Artemis Fowl novel series, a magical ability possessed by fairies S.H.I.E.L.D., a fictional agency in the Marvel comics universe, led by Nick Fury Scyld Scefing (or Shield Sheafson), a legendary Danish king in the epic poem Beowulf Games Pokémon Shield, one of the two paired Pokémon Sword and Shield games for the Nintendo Switch The Shield (video game), based on the television series Television Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a television series based on the Marvel comics The Shield, a television police drama Other uses in arts, entertainment, and media Aspis (Menander), translated as The Shield, a comedy play by Menander "Shield" (song), a song by Deep Purple on the album The Book of Taliesyn