Definition

1. Verb:
   • To keep safe from harm, injury, damage, or loss: The primary meaning is to act as a defense or shield for someone or something.
   • To guard or shield from attack, intrusion, or other danger: To take measures to prevent something undesirable from happening.
   • To support or favor domestic industry through economic measures, such as tariffs: A specific economic and political usage.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • Parents protect their children. (Parents keep their children safe.)
  • The law is designed to protect consumers. (The law aims to shield consumers from harm.)
  • He wore a helmet to protect his head. (He used a helmet to guard his head from injury.)
  • The government decided to protect local farmers. (The government chose to support local farmers with tariffs.)

Advanced Usage

• "to protect against": To take defensive action to prevent a specific threat.
  • Vaccines protect against serious diseases. (Vaccines provide a defense to prevent serious illnesses.)
• "to protect from": To shield or guard someone/something from a source of harm.
  • This lotion protects your skin from the sun. (This lotion shields your skin from the sun's rays.)
• "protected status": A legal or official condition of being guarded from harm or interference.
  • The ancient forest has protected status. (The forest has an official status that guards it from destruction.)

Variants and Related Words

• Protection (n): The act of protecting or the state of being protected.
  • The witness was placed under police protection.
• Protective (adj): Intended to provide protection.
  • She has a very protective attitude toward her younger brother.
• Protector (n): A person or thing that protects.
  • He saw himself as the family's protector.

Synonyms

• Defend: To resist an attack made on someone or something.
• Guard: To watch over and protect from danger.
• Shield: To protect from a danger or risk, like a physical shield.
• Safeguard: To protect something from potential harm or loss.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Protect against: (See "Advanced Usage" above).
• Protect from: (See "Advanced Usage" above).

Related Idioms

• Protect someone's/your own back (or neck): To take action to avoid being blamed, criticized, or harmed.
  • He made sure to document everything to protect his own back.
• A protected species: An animal or plant species that is legally guarded from harm or hunting.
  • The bald eagle is a protected species.

Verb

1. use tariffs to favor domestic industry
2. shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
   • Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain