protect the environment — care for nature
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to take actions that help keep the natural world safe and healthy, such as reducing pollution, recycling, or saving energy.
Say it like a native
Textbook We must endeavour to safeguard the natural environment from harm.
Native We need to protect the environment.
'Endeavour to safeguard the natural environment' is policy-speak; 'protect the environment' is the everyday phrase.
Pattern: protect the environment
In use
- We all need to protect the environment by using less plastic and recycling more.daily life
- In my opinion, everyone should do their part to protect the environment, for example by saving water and reducing waste.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ We should protect environment.
✓ We should protect the environment.
It needs 'the' — 'protect THE environment'.
Common collocations
protect the environment— protect the environment, help the environment, harm the environment, good for the environment
Don't confuse it
'Protect the environment' is about ongoing care, while 'save the environment' often means stopping something bad from happening.