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
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An hour before The Breakaway goes live, the production crew forms a human shield across a noisy central London street so presenter Orla Chennaoui can record her opening link uninterrupted. Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 15 July 2026 Judge Samuel Cappas sentenced a Chicago man this week to 25 years for allegedly using his baby as a human shield during an unrelated police standoff, according to a release. Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026 Euphoria’s main characters hardly feature in the series finale at all—only Maddy is present, and she is used as a human shield, a literal object. Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 2 June 2026 Patty was then taken hostage, with a video showing Abril using her as a human shield. Conor McGill, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for human shield

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Cite this Entry

“Human shield.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human%20shield. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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