"protecting" in the verb sense
1. protect
shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
"Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain"
2. protect
use tariffs to favor domestic industry
"protecting" in the adjective sense
1. protecting
shielding (or designed to shield) against harm or discomfort
"the protecting blanket of snow"
"a protecting alibi"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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