protocol

American  

[proh-tuh-kawl, -kol, -kohl] / ˈproʊ təˌkɔl, -ˌkɒl, -ˌkoʊl /

noun

• protocols
  plural

1. 

   the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence, and etiquette.

2. an original draft, minute, or record from which a document, especially a treaty, is prepared.

3. a supplementary international agreement.

4. an agreement between states.

5. an annex to a treaty giving data relating to it.

6. Medicine/Medical. the plan for carrying out a scientific study or a patient's treatment regimen.

7. Computers. a set of rules governing the format of messages that are exchanged between computers.

8. Also called protocol statement, protocol proposition, protocol sentence. Philosophy. a statement reporting an observation or experience in the most fundamental terms without interpretation: sometimes taken as the basis of empirical verification, as of scientific laws.

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verb (used without object)

1. to draft or issue a protocol.

protocol British  

/ ˈprəʊtəˌkɒl /

noun

1. the formal etiquette and code of behaviour, precedence, and procedure for state and diplomatic ceremonies

2. a memorandum or record of an agreement, esp one reached in international negotiations, a meeting, etc

3. 1. a record of data or observations on a particular experiment or proceeding

   2. an annexe appended to a treaty to deal with subsidiary matters or to render the treaty more lucid

   3. a formal international agreement or understanding on some matter

4. an amendment to a treaty or convention

5. In full: protocol statement. philosophy a statement that is immediately verifiable by experience See logical positivism

6. computing the set form in which data must be presented for handling by a particular computer configuration, esp in the transmission of information between different computer systems

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protocol Scientific  

/ prō′tə-kôl′,-kōl′ /

1. The plan for a course of medical treatment or for a scientific experiment.

2. A set of standardized procedures for transmitting or storing data, especially those used in regulating data transmission between computers or peripherals.

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Usage

What does protocol mean? Protocol generally means an official set of procedures for what actions to take in a certain situation. Protocol has many specific uses, but most of them deal with such a plan or the documents that spell out such a plan or agreement. Protocol is used in specific ways in the contexts of diplomacy, medicine, and computing, but it’s also often used in a general way in situations that require people to follow official procedures. Example: His failure to follow the safety procedures was a serious breach of protocol.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• protocolar
  adjective
• protocolary
  adjective
• protocolic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• protocols
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of protocol

First recorded in 1535–45; earlier protocoll, from Medieval Latin prōtocollum, from Late Greek prōtókollon originally, “a leaf or tag attached to a rolled papyrus manuscript and containing notes as to contents.” See proto-, colloid

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Explanation

Protocol is most often used when talking about the rules of government or official agencies. It is derived from the French and refers to the correct rules of etiquette for diplomats. The term protocol is used in many areas besides diplomatic ones. School marching bands or college admissions offices follow protocols, and doctors use them to treat patients with specific conditions. In tech circles, a protocol is a set of standards that programmers follow so that their work can be decoded by other computers. The p in the http of a web address stands for protocol. Without this type of protocol, you would not be able to read this page.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

protocol protocols

Both patients and their physicians were informed of the treatment recommendations generated by the study protocol.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

Walter Kazadi Mulombo, the WHO representative in Guinea-Bissau, told the BBC they became concerned after receiving questions about the study and finding no publicly available protocol.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

The Tennessee Department of Correction said officials followed established protocol.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The only gold-standard study on the safety of the protocol was stopped after patients enrolled in the study experienced serious complications that required a visit to the emergency room.

From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026

There, he adhered to the same WHO protocol, called DOTS—directly observed treatment short-course chemotherapy—that TB patients in Carabayllo followed.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

The attack on Binance came as many observers express worries that the ever-expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence models could compromise cryptography and IT security protocols.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

The NFL has protocols in place for concussions, emergency preparedness and extreme heat, for games in the US and overseas.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

ServiceNow’s AI Control Tower allows organizations to enact proper governance and security protocols for AI agents.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

The broader goal is to move beyond treating patients with standardized protocols and toward interventions guided by measurable biological information.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

I went on to insist that the agents revise their protocols so that in the future Malia and Sasha could leave the White House safely and without some massive advance planning effort.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• agreement
• code
• contract
• covenant
• custom
• obligation
• pact

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