pro|tec|tion|ism /prəte kʃən I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Protectionism is the policy some countries have of helping their own industries by putting a large tax on imported goods or by restricting imports in some other way. [BUSINESS ] □ …talks to promote free trade and avert increasing protectionism.
pro|tec|tion|ist /prəte kʃən I st/ (protectionists )
1 N‑COUNT A protectionist is someone who agrees with and supports protectionism. [BUSINESS ] □ Trade frictions between the two countries had been caused by trade protectionists.
2 ADJ Protectionist policies, measures, and laws are meant to stop or reduce imports. [BUSINESS ]
pro|tec|tive /prəte kt I v/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Protective means designed or intended to protect something or someone from harm. □ Protective gloves reduce the absorption of chemicals through the skin. □ Protective measures are necessary if the city's monuments are to be preserved.
2 ADJ If someone is protective towards you, they look after you and show a strong desire to keep you safe. □ [+ towards/of ] He is very protective towards his mother. ● pro|tec|tive|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ Simon drove me to the airport and protectively told me to look after myself. ● pro|tec|tive|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ towards ] What she felt now was protectiveness towards her brothers, her sister and her new baby.
pro|te c|tive cu s|to|dy N‑UNCOUNT If a witness in a court case is being held in protective custody , they are being kept in prison in order to prevent them from being harmed. □ They might be doing me a good turn if they took me into protective custody.
pro|tec|tor /prəte ktə r / (protectors )
1 N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as your protector , you mean that they protect you from being harmed. □ Many mothers see their son as a potential protector and provider.
2 N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A protector is a device that protects someone or something from physical harm. □ He was the only National League umpire to wear an outside chest protector.
pro|tec|tor|ate /prəte ktərət/ (protectorates ) N‑COUNT A protectorate is a country that is controlled and protected by a more powerful country. □ In 1914 the country became a British protectorate.
pro|té|gé /prɒ t I ʒe I , [AM ] proʊ t-/ (protégés ) The spelling protégée is often used when referring to a woman. N‑COUNT The protégé of an older and more experienced person is a young person who is helped and guided by them over a period of time. □ He had been a protégé of Captain James.
pro|tein ◆◇◇ /proʊ tiːn/ (proteins ) N‑VAR Protein is a substance found in food and drink such as meat, eggs, and milk. You need protein in order to grow and be healthy. □ Fish was a major source of protein for the working man. □ …a high protein diet.
pro tem /proʊ te m/ ADV [n ADV ] If someone has a particular position or job pro tem , they have it temporarily. [FORMAL ] □ …the president pro tem of the California State Senate.
pro|test ◆◆◇ (protests , protesting , protested ) The verb is pronounced /prəte st/. The noun is pronounced /proʊ test/. 1 VERB If you protest against something or about something, you say or show publicly that you object to it. In American English, you usually say that you protest it. □ [V + about/against/at ] Groups of women took to the streets to protest against the arrests. □ [V + about/against/at ] The students were protesting at overcrowding in the university hostels. □ [V n] They were protesting soaring prices. □ [V ] He picked up the cat before Rosa could protest.
2 N‑VAR A protest is the act of saying or showing publicly that you object to something. □ [+ against ] The opposition now seems too weak to stage any serious protests against the government. □ [+ at ] The unions called a two-hour strike in protest at the railway authority's announcement. □ …a protest march. [Also + about ]
3 VERB If you protest that something is the case, you insist that it is the case, when other people think that it may not be. □ [V that] When we tried to protest that Mo was beaten up they didn't believe us. □ [V with quote] 'I never said any of that to her,' he protested. □ [V n] He has always protested his innocence. SYNONYMS protest VERB 1
object: 'Hey, I don't know what you're talking about,' Russo objected.
demonstrate: 30,000 angry farmers demonstrated against possible cuts in subsidies.
complain: 'I do everything you ask of me,' he complained. NOUN 2
complaint: People have been reluctant to make formal complaints to the police.
demonstration: Riot police broke up a demonstration by students.
outcry: The killing caused an international outcry.
Prot|es|tant /prɒ t I stənt/ (Protestants )
1 N‑COUNT A Protestant is a Christian who belongs to the branch of the Christian church which separated from the Catholic church in the sixteenth century.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Protestant means relating to Protestants or their churches. □ Many Protestant churches have women ministers.
Prot|es|tant|ism /prɒ t I stənt I zəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Protestantism is the set of Christian beliefs that are held by Protestants. □ …the spread of Protestantism.
pro|tes|ta|tion /prɒ t I ste I ʃ ə n/ (protestations ) N‑COUNT A protestation is a strong declaration that something is true or not true. [FORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Despite his constant protestations of devotion and love, her doubts persisted.