cover-up
noun
any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.
cover-up
American
[kuhv-er-uhp]
/ ˈkʌv ərˌʌp /
noun
-
cover-ups
plural
-
any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.
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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
verb
-
(tr) to cover completely
-
to attempt to conceal (a mistake or crime)
she tried to cover up for her friend
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(intr) boxing to defend the body and head with the arms
cover up
Idioms
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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]
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Conceal something, especially a crime, as in The opposition accused the President of covering up his assistant's suicide . [c. 1920]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
We went back and forth on what Anton says, what Paul Baker says, whether you hear us or not, whether it’s a balloon cover-up, whether we show the kiss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
She walked her across the street where she bought a cover-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
An external review found multiple failings, with Ockenden saying the case was "compounded by a systemic cover-up and investigations designed to mislead".
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
What started as an innocent mistake has ended up as a bad cover-up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Harry’s brain, each more feeble than the last.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
They are the actions of a spoiled brat trying, and failing, to cover up the stench of losing.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
They also depicted him as a scapegoat whose prosecution was being used to cover up the Los Angeles Fire Department's failure to extinguish the initial fire.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
“We don’t cover up for anyone,” Sheinbaum said Friday, repeating her frequent assertion that no one in Mexico — even ruling-party officials — is above the law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
One time out of a million the press might choose to lie or cover up the truth for what it considers higher reasons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
I push the plastic cover up and hold the dress out by its hem, studying the sheen of the fabric.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
His work as an MP partly led to the Hillsborough Law, which was passed last week and is intended to prevent cover-ups linked to failures of the state.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
A bill "to prevent cover-ups" in response to the Hillsborough Disaster will "finally pass after years of frustration".
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The families of victims of the Manchester Arena bombing say they cannot support the current form of a new law being designed to stop cover-ups.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
Can you lay out the lies and fabrications and cover-ups?
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2025
In turn, Patel tweeted a pledge that “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents.”
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2025
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.
