DictionaryAI

protect

verb
pruh-TEKT/pɹəˈtɛkt/

Formsprotects, protecting, protected

3 meanings of protect

Practice

  1. 1
    keep safeverbtransitive or intransitive
    To keep safe from harm; to defend or guard against danger.

    The new law is designed to protect consumers from fraud.

    Thick walls protected the village from invaders.

    UsageYou protect someone from a danger, and something protects against a threat: protect children from harm, a vaccine that protects against flu.

    Similardefend, guard, shield, safeguard, shelter

    Oppositeendanger, expose, attack

    Note

    At root this is a picture of covering the front: Latin prōtegere, from prō- 'in front' and tegere 'to cover'. It largely took the place of the native verb shelden, the Middle English form of shield.

  2. 2
    shield industryverbtransitiveeconomics
    To guard a nation's domestic industries or trade against foreign competitors by taxing or restricting imports.

    The government raised tariffs on imported steel to protect domestic mills.

    Critics argue that quotas protecting local sugar growers end up raising prices for consumers.

    Note

    Economics turns the verb into a trade policy. A government protects a home industry with tariffs, which are taxes on imports, or with quotas, which cap how much may come in. The policy as a whole is protectionism, a word free-trade economists often use critically. Unlike the everyday sense of keeping safe, what is guarded is a share of the market, and critics count the cost in higher prices at home.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Governments protect domestic producers by restricting imports through tariffs or quotas; this policy is protectionism. fao.org
    • Import tariffs are taxes on imported goods. wto.org
    • Import quotas limit how much of a good may be imported. en.wikipedia.org
    • Trade protection helps domestic goods retain or gain a competitive position in their home market. wto.org
    • Critics identify higher domestic consumer prices as a cost of protectionism. federalreserve.gov

Less common meaning

  1. 3
    verb
    To reserve a seat for a passenger on a later flight when there is a risk they cannot board their earlier booked flight.

Practice

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Origin

Latin prōtegere ("to cover the front, protect") joined prō ("before, in front of") and tegere ("to cover"); its past participle prōtēctus ("covered, protected") is the source of the English word, recorded since the 1400s. It pushed out the native Middle English shelden, which came from Old English sċildan ("to protect," literally "to shield").