cloak
Americannoun
-
cloaks
plural
verb (used with object)
-
cloaks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cloaked,
past participle, past
-
cloaking
present participle
-
to cover with or as if with a cloak.
She arrived at the opera cloaked in green velvet.
-
to hide; conceal.
The mission was cloaked in mystery.
noun
-
a wraplike outer garment fastened at the throat and falling straight from the shoulders
-
something that covers or conceals
verb
-
to cover with or as if with a cloak
-
to hide or disguise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cloaksimple
-
cloakssimple
-
have cloakedperfect
-
has cloakedperfect
-
am cloakingprogressive
-
are cloakingprogressive
-
is cloakingprogressive
-
have been cloakingperfect progressive
-
has been cloakingperfect progressive
Past
-
cloakedsimple
-
had cloakedperfect
-
was cloakingprogressive
-
were cloakingprogressive
-
had been cloakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cloak
1175–1225; Middle English cloke (< Old French ) < Medieval Latin cloca, variant of clocca bell-shaped cape, bell; see clock 1
Explanation
A cloak is anything that conceals or hides something, like an over-sized, dark raincoat you wear when you don't want your friends to see you're going to the movies without them. As a noun, a cloak is usually a loose piece of clothing that you wear over your other clothes, like a cape or a gown. It especially refers to an outer garment that you might wear while traveling in order to protect your outfit or to conceal your identity. As a verb, to cloak is to conceal or hide something. If you were a famous person who wanted to go out alone, you might cloak your identity with a cloak.
Vocabulary lists containing cloak
The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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"Encounter"
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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.
See Examples For:
Like Maddie, she can easily cloak compulsions under the blanket of modern body positivity.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
That painting depicts Christ on the cross, with a painter standing beneath him dressed in a mauve-pink-and-brown cloak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
That creates a cloak of consistency, because people expect interventions, but it does not necessarily mean VAR is being used as originally intended, for the real howlers.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
They wanted to be able to cloak this in the air of legitimacy, when it has nothing to do with what a real lawsuit would look like.
From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2026
The cloak snagged, yanking her to a stop in the lowest bough.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Throughout the holy city, Iranian flags can be seen printed on white pilgrims' garments, cloaks, bags and buses.
From Barron's ● May 25, 2026
Here, the evildoers receive sumptuous cloaks along with their metaphorical daggers.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2026
Oaks support more than 1000 species, while maples offer food to over 300, including swallowtails and mourning cloaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
These thick cloaks of dust might dim the stars' light to the point of utter undetectability.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2025
All eyes descended to the bottoms of the men’s cloaks.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
It’s cloaked language, but a nod to NIMBYs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Then, as now, companies that inflamed the public’s urge to gamble cloaked themselves in the righteous robes of “democratization.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Century-old El Floridita is cloaked with metal shutters.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Whatever happens will be cloaked in lies — and followed by gaslighting.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
She could sense the tension hidden between us like a cloaked Romulan Warbird.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
I’m including the comments in full because of how out of character they were for a Fed chair best known for cloaking his future decisions:
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
In one memorable case, a pilot lost his bearings after a plane above and in front of him dumped its load of retardant on his windshield, cloaking his view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024
This is a type of online fraud called "cloaking", whereby malicious adverts are able to get past a social media firm's review stage because the fraudsters have hidden their intensions.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2024
Historically, The Family has successfully veiled its involvement in the breakfast, cloaking it in as much government adornment as possible.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2024
Even though Mom’s voice is unwavering, and despite the darkness cloaking the car, I sense her tension.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
