protocols

NOUN

rules of conduct, behavior in certain situation

Synonyms

STRONGEST

agreement code contract covenant custom obligation pact

STRONG

compact concordat conventions courtesy decorum etiquette formalities manners order politesse propriety treaty

WEAK

good form p's and q's

Antonyms

STRONGEST

disagreement

STRONG

bad manners impoliteness rudeness

WEAK

crudeness impropriety

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The rules require Chinese companies and research institutions to step up security protocols governing key technologies and data.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Citigroup amended protocols much like it does around a presidential election, such as pausing any minor coding updates to its trading tools or anything else that could slow operations, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

Although Greer said there are some valuable elements to the original trade pact, he wants separate protocols for each country since the U.S. has different issues with each of the trading partners.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

The service uses AES-256 encryption with OpenVPN and IKEv2 protocols, plus a WireGuard option on some platforms.

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2026

“Netscape helped to guarantee that these open protocols would not be proprietary by commercializing them for the public,” said Andreessen.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman