"the B vitamins give protection against infection"

• a person or thing that protects someone or something

  "the castle was built as protection against the Saxons"

• a legal or other formal measure intended to preserve civil liberties and rights

  "most Western countries provide constitutional protections for the civil and political rights of their citizens"

• a document guaranteeing immunity from harm to the person specified in it
• measures taken to prevent conception or sexually transmitted infection during sexual activity, especially the use of a condom

  "we'd been told by a doctor we couldn't have any more kids, so hadn't used protection for years"

• the number and quality of running belays or other equipment employed to safeguard a pitch

  "most European climbers drill bolts into rock rather than using removable protection"

• used euphemistically to refer to the keeping of a mistress by her lover in a separate establishment

  "she was living under his lordship's protection at Gloucester Gate"

"a protection racket"

• money paid to criminals, especially on a regular basis, to prevent them from attacking oneself or one's property

  "he was targeted after refusing to pay protection"