Protection

//pɹəˈtɛkʃn̩// noun

noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The process of keeping (something or someone) safe. countable, uncountable

    "Raincoats give protection from rain."

  2. 2
    payment extorted by gangsters on threat of violence wordnet
  3. 3
    The state of being safe. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    the activity of protecting someone or something wordnet
  5. 5
    A means of keeping or remaining safe. countable, uncountable
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    the imposition of duties or quotas on imports in order to protect domestic industry against foreign competition wordnet
  2. 7
    A means, such as a condom, of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    kindly endorsement and guidance wordnet
  4. 9
    Coverage. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    a covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury wordnet
  6. 11
    Immunity from harm, obtained by illegal payments, as bribery or extortion. countable, uncountable
  7. 12
    defense against financial failure; financial independence wordnet
  8. 13
    A document serving as a guarantee against harm or interference; a passport. countable, obsolete, uncountable
  9. 14
    the condition of being protected wordnet
  10. 15
    Restrictions on foreign competitors which limit their ability to compete with domestic producers of goods or services. countable, uncountable
  11. 16
    An instance of a security token associated with a resource (such as a file). countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    Synonym of adult protection (“adult incontinence wear”). countable, euphemistic, rare, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
securityumbrellaadult protectionaegisaegisaid

Antonyms

All antonyms
threat

Example

More examples

"We should lay on a second coat of paint for better protection against the weather."

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French, from stem of Late Latin prōtectiō (“a covering over”), from Latin prōtēctus, perfect passive participle of prōtegere (“to protect, cover in front”). Displaced native Old English ġesċildnes. Equivalent to protect + -ion.

Related phrases

Mickey Mouse Protection Actclose protectioncopy protectiondata protectiondeposit protectionenvironmental protectionextreme risk protection orderlightning protection systemnatural protectionphysical memory protectionpolice protectionprotection course

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.