human shield

noun

: a person whose body is used as a protection from harm by someone else

The thief tried to use a hostage as a human shield hoping the police would not shoot.

Examples of human shield in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the hallway, they were engulfed by their supporters, who embraced them, patting their shoulders and forming a kind of human shield to protect them from the eyes and questions of reporters and onlookers. —

Audra D. S. Burch, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2023 Celebrities had flown to Alabama to form a human shield around the marchers, the idea being that surely no one would take a shot at Harry Belafonte. —

Michael Wilson, New York Times, 12 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'human shield.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.