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  • cover-up
    cover-up
    noun
    any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.
  • cover up
    cover up

    Wrap up or enfold in order to protect. For example, Be sure to cover up the outdoor furniture in case of rain , or It's cold, so be sure to cover up the baby . [Late 1800s]

Synonyms

cover-up

American  
[kuhv-er-uhp] / ˈkʌv ərˌʌp /

noun

  1. any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.

  2. Also coverup any of various women's garments, as loose blouses, jump suits, caftans, or sarongs, worn over a swimsuit, exercise clothing, or the like.

cover-up British  

noun

  1. concealment or attempted concealment of a mistake, crime, etc

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to cover completely

  2. to attempt to conceal (a mistake or crime)

    she tried to cover up for her friend

  3. (intr) boxing to defend the body and head with the arms

"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
cover up Idioms  

  1. Wrap up or enfold in order to protect. For example, Be sure to cover up the outdoor furniture in case of rain , or It's cold, so be sure to cover up the baby . [Late 1800s]

  2. Conceal something, especially a crime, as in The opposition accused the President of covering up his assistant's suicide . [c. 1920]

Etymology

Origin of cover-up

First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase cover up

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.

Think of mask-wearing, clear enough early in the pandemic: Cover up!

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2022

"Show off your curves! Cover up for no-one and be confident," she posted.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2022

Cover up with some of our favorite face masks.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2020

Cover up from your eyes to your chin!

From Washington Post • Apr. 30, 2020

Cover up the bowl of dough and let it raise until it is as high again, which will take at least four hours.

From The International Jewish Cook Book 1600 Recipes According to the Jewish Dietary Laws with the Rules for Kashering; the Favorite Recipes of America, Austria, Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Roumania, Etc., Etc. by Greenbaum, Florence Kreisler

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.