break cover

Idioms  

1. Suddenly emerge from a hiding place, as in The shots distracted our pursuers long enough so that we could break cover and make a run for it. This term originally alluded to animals being hunted, a frequent usage in the 16th century. Now that hunting is a less common pursuit, it is used for human beings.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

break cover

Those who remain, like 59-year-old Ihor, only break cover to find the bare essentials.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2024

But a midranking officer ignored part of the order and allowed members of the unit to break cover behind a barricade.

From New York Times ● Jan. 29, 2022

Sanchez said he had at least two photographers collecting tips and following Messi and PSG for the first shots of the family when they finally break cover from their hotel.

From Reuters ● Sep. 15, 2021

The first to break cover was James Mattis, the marine general who resigned as Trump’s defence secretary in December 2018 and kept silent until now.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 7, 2020

Even foot soldiers must be severely trained and experienced to resist the natural inclination to break cover when such a missile is hurled into their midst.

From Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War by Frederick Arthur Ambrose Talbot