protectionism

pro·tec·tio·ni·sm
P3R1O1T1E1C3T1I1O1N1I1S1M3
/pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/

noun

A system or policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product from foreign competition by imposing tariffs, quotas, duties or other barriers on importations.

OriginFrench protectionnisme →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Word of the Day · Apr 17, 2026

Meanings

nounprotectionism (countable and uncountable, plural protectionisms)

plural protectionisms

  1. countableuncountableeconomicsA system or policy of protecting the domestic producers of a product from foreign competition by imposing tariffs, quotas, duties or other barriers on importations.

    Take the New Right's full-throated embrace of protectionism and industrial policy. This romance with protectionism started in the 1990s with former GOP presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, gained enormous traction under former President Donald Trump, and is still going strong today.

    2024 March 20, Veronique de Rugy, “The Political Right Has Luxury Beliefs, Too”, in Reason
  2. countableuncountableLinguistic purism.

Origin

  1. Frenchprotectionnisme
  2. Englishprotectionism

Borrowed from French protectionnisme, equivalent to protection + -ism.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic حِمَائِيَّة
  • حِمَائِيَّة (ḥimāʔiyya)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Basque protekzionismo
  • protekzionismoa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Bulgarian протекциони́зъм
  • протекциони́зъм (protekcionízăm)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Catalan proteccionisme
  • proteccionismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Chinese Mandarin 保護主義 /保护主义
  • 保護主義 /保护主义 (bǎohùzhǔyì)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Czech protekcionismus
  • protekcionismusa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Danish protektionisme
  • protektionismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Dutch protectionisme
  • protectionismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Esperanto protektismo
  • protektismoa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Estonian protektsionism
  • protektsionisma policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Finnish protektionismi
  • protektionismia policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
French protectionnisme
  • protectionnismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
German Protektionismus
  • Protektionismusa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Greek προστατευτισμός
  • προστατευτισμός (prostateftismós)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Hebrew פְּרוֹטֶקְצְיוֹנִיזְם
  • פְּרוֹטֶקְצְיוֹנִיזְם (protektsionízm)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Hindi संरक्षणवाद
  • संरक्षणवाद (sanrakṣaṇvād)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Hungarian protekcionizmus
  • protekcionizmusa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Indonesian proteksionisme
  • proteksionismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Irish cosantachas
  • cosantachasa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Italian protezionismo
  • protezionismoa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Japanese 保護主義, 保護貿易
  • 保護主義 (hogoshugi)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
  • 保護貿易 (hogobōeki)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Korean 보호주의, 보호무역
  • 보호주의 (bohojuui)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
  • 보호무역 (bohomuyeok)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Latvian protekcionisms
  • protekcionismsa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Lithuanian protekcionizmas
  • protekcionizmasa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Māori pākaihokotanga
  • pākaihokotangaa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Norwegian Bokmål proteksjonisme
  • proteksjonismea policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Persian حمایتگرایی
  • حمایتگرایی (hemâyat-garâyi)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Polish protekcjonizm
  • protekcjonizma policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Portuguese protecionismo
  • protecionismoa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Punjabi ਸੁਰੱਖਿਆਵਾਦ
  • ਸੁਰੱਖਿਆਵਾਦ (surakkhiāvād)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Romanian protecționism
  • protecționisma policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Russian протекциони́зм
  • протекциони́зм (protɛkcionízm)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Slovak protekcionizmus
  • protekcionizmusa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Spanish proteccionismo
  • proteccionismoa policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Swedish protektionism
  • protektionisma policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Tamil பாதுகாப்புவாதம்
  • பாதுகாப்புவாதம் (pātukāppuvātam)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Thai ลัทธิคุ้มครอง
  • ลัทธิคุ้มครอง (lát-tí-kúm-krɔɔng)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Turkish korumacılık, himayecilik
  • korumacılıka policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
  • himayecilika policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Ukrainian протекціоні́зм
  • протекціоні́зм (protekcionízm)a policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Vietnamese bảo hộ mậu dịch
  • bảo hộ mậu dịcha policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.
Welsh diffyndollaeth
  • diffyndollaetha policy of protecting the domestic producers by imposing tariffs etc.

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with protectionism

perfectionism
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

protectionism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protectionism

MLA

“protectionism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protectionism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “protectionism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/protectionism.

Source: protectionism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.