Protective mechanism ensures triumph against dangerous opponents (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
fail-safe
'protective' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fail-safe that I've seen before include "Device to ensure proper operation" , "Sure to succeed" , "Unlikely to go wrong" , "It ensures a return to a safety when something goes wrong with a mechanism" , "Designed to prevent accidents in the case of malfunction" .)