<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>the act of protecting or the state of being protected; preservation from injury or harm.</li><li>Synonyms: safety, refuge, security.</li><li>a thing, person, or group that protects: This vaccine is a protection against disease.</li><li>Synonyms: bulwark, shield, defense, guard.</li><li>patronage.</li><li>Synonyms: sponsorship, aegis.</li><li>Insurance: coverage.</li><li>Informal: money paid to racketeers for a guarantee against threatened violence.</li><li>bribe money paid to the police, politicians, or other authorities for overlooking criminal activity.</li><li>Economics: protectionism.</li><li>a document that assures safety from harm, delay, or the like, for the person, persons, or property specified in it.</li><li>Synonyms: permit, pass.</li><li>Archaic: a document given by the U.S. customs authorities to a sailor traveling abroad certifying that the holder is a citizen of the U.S.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>to defend; protect; guard: The president was fenced by bodyguards wherever he went.</li><li>to ward off; keep out.</li><li>Informal: to sell (stolen goods) to a fence.</li><li>Nautical: to reinforce (an opening in a sail or the like) by sewing on a grommet or other device.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>to practice the art or sport of fencing.</li><li>to parry arguments; strive to avoid giving direct answers; hedge: The mayor fenced when asked if he would run again.</li><li>(of a horse) to leap over a fence.</li><li>Obsolete: to raise a defense.</li></ul>