covert

[ adjective koh-vert, kuhv-ert; noun kuhv-ert, koh-vert ]
See synonyms for: covertcovertscovertlycovertness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. concealed or disguised; secret: covert intelligence operations;covert behavior.

  2. covered; sheltered.

  1. Law. (of a wife) under the protection of one's husband.

noun
  1. a shelter or hiding place.

  1. concealment or disguise.

  2. Hunting. a thicket giving shelter to wild animals or game.

  3. Also called tectrix. Ornithology. one of the small feathers that cover the bases of the large feathers of the wings and tail.

Origin of covert

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin coopertus, past participle of cooperīre “to cover completely”; see cover

pronunciation note For covert

Covert, related to cover, has historically been pronounced [kuhv-ert], /ˈkʌv ərt/, with [uh], /ʌ/, the same stressed vowel found in cover. This [uh] /ʌ/ is the traditional and unchallenged vowel in many other English words spelled with stressed o followed by v, voiced th, or a nasal in the same syllable, words of high frequency like love and above, mother and other, some and honey. The adjective covert, however, by analogy with overt [oh-vurt, oh-vert], /oʊˈvɜrt, ˈoʊ vərt/, its semantic opposite, has developed the pronunciation [koh-vert], /ˈkoʊ vərt/, perhaps because of the frequent coupling of the two terms in the news media. This is now the more common pronunciation for the adjective in American English, though not in British English, which retains the historical pronunciation. For the noun senses, less likely to appear in the news or to be contrasted with overt and its [oh] /oʊ/ sound, the historical [kuhv-ert] /ˈkʌv ərt/ remains the more frequent pronunciation.

Other words for covert

Other words from covert

  • co·vert·ly, adverb
  • co·vert·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with covert

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use covert in a sentence

  • How could you imagine that I should be thinking of those coverts?

    The Widow's Dog | Mary Russell Mitford
  • The rabbits seemed to have fled from all the coverts about their mountain.

    Earth's Enigmas | Charles G. D. Roberts
  • When the English were completely encircled, the Indians rose from the coverts, and advanced towards them with arms presented.

  • The great coverts of the wings are stiff, narrow, and pointed, being shaped quite p. 156different from those of any other bird.

    Wanderings in South America | Charles Waterton
  • No path led to this or away from it, but all around him grew grasses and plants which would be natural coverts for wild creatures.

    The Kentucky Warbler | James Lane Allen

British Dictionary definitions for covert

covert

/ (ˈkʌvət) /


adjective
  1. concealed or secret: covert jealousy

  2. law Compare feme covert, discovert

noun
  1. a shelter or disguise

  2. a thicket or woodland providing shelter for game

  1. short for covert cloth

  2. ornithol any of the small feathers on the wings and tail of a bird that surround the bases of the larger feathers

  3. a flock of coots

Origin of covert

1
C14: from Old French: covered, from covrir to cover

Derived forms of covert

  • covertly, adverb
  • covertness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012