S: (v) protect (shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage) "Weatherbeater protects your roof from the rain"
S: (v) ward off (avert, turn away, or repel) "Ward off danger"
S: (v) check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain, hold back (hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of) "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the growth of communism in South East Asia"; "Contain the rebel movement"; "Turn back the tide of communism"
S: (v) prevent, keep (stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state) "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"
S: (v) defend (be on the defensive; act against an attack)
S: (v) exclude, keep out, shut out, shut (prevent from entering; shut out) "The trees were shutting out all sunlight"; "This policy excludes people who have a criminal record from entering the country"
S: (v) restrict (prevent (information) from being circulated or disclosed)
S: (v) hold (keep from departing) "Hold the taxi"; "Hold the horse"
S: (v) keep away (prevent from coming close) "I tried to keep the child away from the pool"
S: (v) restrain (prevent (someone or something) from doing something) "security guards restrained the reporter from throwing another shoe"
S: (v) defend, guard, hold (protect against a challenge or attack) "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks"