protection

[ pruh-tek-shuhn ]

/ prəˈtɛk ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR protection ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of protecting or the state of being protected; preservation from injury or harm.

a thing, person, or group that protects: This vaccine is a protection against disease.

patronage.

Insurance. coverage(def 1).

Informal.

money paid to racketeers for a guarantee against threatened violence.
bribe money paid to the police, politicians, or other authorities for overlooking criminal activity.

Economics. protectionism.

a document that assures safety from harm, delay, or the like, for the person, persons, or property specified in it.

Archaic. a document given by the U.S. customs authorities to a sailor traveling abroad certifying that the holder is a citizen of the U.S.

Nearby words

protected sex, protectee, protecter, protecting, protectingly, protection, protection ratio, protection test, protectionism, protectionist, protective

Origin of protection

1275–1325; Middle English proteccio(u)n < Late Latin prōtēctiōn- (stem of prōtēctiō) a covering in front. See protect, -ion

SYNONYMS FOR protection

1 security, refuge, safety.

2 guard, defense, shield, bulwark.

3 aegis, sponsorship.

7 pass, permit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR protection ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspro·tec·tion·al, adjectivenon·pro·tec·tion, nouno·ver·pro·tec·tion, noun

Synonym study

2. See cover.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for protection

Satirists occupy a perilous position—to skewer dogma and cant, and to antagonize the establishment while needing its protection.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The protection will last as long as Winston can still fling the ball 50 yards downfield to a streaking wide receiver.
Jameis Winston Cleared of Rape Like Every Other College Sports Star|Robert Silverman|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is, in fact, a distinction in the level of protection.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Dec. 14|PunditFact.com|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But as a lawyer, she uses law to contribute to their protection.
The Straight Hero of Cameroon’s Gays|Jay Michaelson|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Why are “threats,” unlike other scary speech, outside the protection of the First Amendment?
Does Free Speech Cover Murder Fantasies? The Supreme Court’s Definition of a ‘Threat’|Geoffrey R. Stone|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So the adaptation of new words and accompaniment to an old air is a musical composition entitled to protection.
A Treatise Upon the Law of Copyright in the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the Crown,|E. J. MacGillivray
Lockley noted that the human confederates of the monsters had no protection against the beam to match his own.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Two armed vessels were ordered for the protection of Rhode Island waters; and this was the beginning of the American navy.
Revolutionary Reader|Sophie Lee Foster
They pleaded with her, on bended knees, in the village church, to ward off this dread enemy and to send them protection.
Our Little Polish Cousin|Florence E. Mendel
There is Neufeld, who lives under the protection of the Khalifa.
With Kitchener in the Soudan|G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for protection

protection

/ (prəˈtɛkʃən) /

noun

the act of protecting or the condition of being protected

something that protects

the imposition of duties or quotas on imports, designed for the protection of domestic industries against overseas competition, expansion of domestic employment, etc
Also called: protectionism the system, policy, or theory of such restrictionsCompare free trade

a document that grants protection or immunity from arrest or harassment to a person, esp a traveller

mountaineering security on a climb provided by running belays, etc

informal

Also called: protection money money demanded by gangsters for freedom from molestation
freedom from molestation purchased in this way

Derived Formsprotectionism, nounprotectionist, noun, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for protection

protection

mid-14c., "shelter, defense; keeping, guardianship;" late 14c. as "that which protects," from Old French proteccion "protection, shield" (12c.) and directly from Late Latin protectionem (nominative protectio) "a covering over," noun of action from past participle stem of protegere "protect, cover in front," from pro- "in front" + tegere "to cover" (see stegosaurus).

A common Old English word for "protect" was beorgan. International economic sense is from 1789. In gangster sense, "freedom from molestation in exchange for money," it is attested from 1860. Ecological sense of "attempted preservation by laws" is from 1880 (originally of wild birds in Britain). Also in medieval England, "the protection or maintenance of a lord or patron; sponsorship." To put (someone) out of protection meant to deprive him or her of the security of the protection of the kingdom's laws.

protection

noun

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Origin of protection

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Examples from the Web for protection

British Dictionary definitions for protection

protection

noun

Word Origin and History for protection

protection