protect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to defend or guard from attack, invasion, loss, annoyance, insult, etc.; cover or shield from injury or danger.
- Antonyms:
- attack
-
Economics. to guard (the industry or an industry of a nation) from foreign competition by imposing import duties.
-
to provide funds for the payment of (a draft, note, etc.).
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to defend from trouble, harm, attack, etc
-
economics to assist (domestic industries) by the imposition of protective tariffs on imports
-
commerce to provide funds in advance to guarantee payment of (a note, draft, etc)
Related Words
See defend.
Other Word Forms
- overprotect verb (used with object)
- protectability noun
- protectable adjective
- protectibility noun
- protectible adjective
- quasi-protected adjective
- semiprotected adjective
- unprotectable adjective
- unprotected adjective
- well-protected adjective
Etymology
Origin of protect
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin prōtēctus “covered in front,” past participle of prōtegere “to cover in front,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + tegere “to cover” (akin to toga, thatch )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All the more unlucky: both Asia and Grace are urgently trying to protect their sisters from falling into the cult’s grasp.
From Salon
"As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshippers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City to protect them."
From BBC
But how can you protect them from something that’s changing so rapidly?
States need to recognize and protect these rights with “due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems.”
This field is important because it can bring about topological quantum computing, a hypothetical way of storing and manipulating quantum information while protecting it against errors.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
