Protection vs. Safety — What's the Difference?

Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights.

Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.

The act of protecting.

The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury.

The condition of being protected.

A device designed to prevent accidents, as a lock on a firearm preventing accidental firing.

One that protects

A play in which a member of the offensive team downs the ball or is tackled or forced out of bounds behind his own goal line, resulting in two points for the defensive team.

A pass guaranteeing safe-conduct to travelers.

Either of two defensive backs normally positioned behind the linebackers in the middle of the backfield.

Something that lowers the risk of pregnancy or infection, especially the use of a condom.

The condition or feeling of being safe; security; certainty.

Payment collected by racketeers from businesses or illegal enterprises under threat of violence.

(mechanics) A mechanism on a weapon or dangerous equipment designed to prevent accidental firing.

Payment made by racketeers to officials or law enforcement to avoid arrest or prosecution.

(American football) An instance of a player being sacked or tackled in the end zone, or stepping out of the end zone and off the field, resulting in two points to the opposite team.

The process of keeping (something or someone) safe.

(American football) Any of the defensive players who are in position furthest from the line of scrimmage and whose responsibility is to defend against passes as well as to be the tacklers of last resort.

The state of being safe.

(baseball) A safety squeeze.

A means of keeping or remaining safe.

Preservation from escape; close custody.

A means, such as a condom, of preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease.

(dated) A safety bicycle.

(insurance) Coverage.

(transitive) To secure (a mechanical component, as in aviation) to keep it from becoming detached even under vibration.

Immunity from harm, obtained by illegal payments, as bribery or extortion.

To secure a firing pin, as in guns, to keep the gun from firing

(obsolete) A document serving as a guarantee against harm or interference; a passport.

The condition or state of being safe; freedom from danger or hazard; exemption from hurt, injury, or loss.

(economics) Restrictions on foreign competitors which limit their ability to compete with domestic producers of goods or services.

Freedom from whatever exposes one to danger or from liability to cause danger or harm; safeness; hence, the quality of making safe or secure, or of giving confidence, justifying trust, insuring against harm or loss, etc.

(computing) An instance of a security token associated with a resource (such as a file).

Preservation from escape; close custody.

The act of protecting, or the state of being protected; preservation from loss, injury, or annoyance; defense; shelter; as, the weak need protection.

The act or result of a ball-carrier on the offensive team being tackled behind his own goal line, or the downing of a ball behind the offensive team's own goal line when it had been carried or propelled behind that goal line by a player on the offensive tream; such a play causes a score of two points to be awarded to the defensive team; - it is distinguished from touchback, when the ball is downed behind the goal after being propelled there or last touched by a player of the defending team. See Touchdown. Same as Safety touchdown, below.

That which protects or preserves from injury; a defense; a shield; a refuge.

Short for Safety bicycle.

A writing that protects or secures from molestation or arrest; a pass; a safe-conduct; a passport.

A switch on a firearm that locks the trigger and prevents the firearm from being discharged unintentionally; - also called safety catch, safety lock, or lock.

A theory, or a policy, of protecting the producers in a country from foreign competition in the home market by the imposition of such discriminating duties on goods of foreign production as will restrict or prevent their importation; - opposed to free trade.

The state of being certain that adverse effects will not be caused by some agent under defined conditions;

The activity of protecting someone or something;

A safe place;

A covering that is intend to protect from damage or injury;

A device designed to prevent injury

Defense against financial failure; financial independence;

(baseball) the successful act of striking a baseball in such a way that the batter reaches base safely

The condition of being protected;

Contraceptive device consisting of a thin rubber or latex sheath worn over the penis during intercourse

Kindly endorsement and guidance;

A score in American football; a player is tackled behind his own goal line

The imposition of duties or quotas on imports in order to protect domestic industry against foreign competition;

Payment extorted by gangsters on threat of violence;