# protect

Pronunciation: say "pruh-TEKT" /pɹəˈtɛkt/

## Verb

1. To keep safe from harm; to defend or guard against danger.
   - Simple: To keep someone or something safe from harm or danger.
   - _The new law is designed to protect consumers from fraud._
   - _Thick walls protected the village from invaders._
2. To guard a nation's domestic industries or trade against foreign competitors by taxing or restricting imports.
   - Simple: To help a country's own businesses by making goods from other countries cost more or come in less.
   - _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._

## Other meanings

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

## 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").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/protect (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).