cover for
Idioms-
Also, cover up for . Conceal a wrongdoing or wrongdoer, as in Bill was supposed to be on duty but went to a ballgame and Alan agreed to cover for him or I covered up for my friend when her mother called to find out where she was . [1960s] Also see cover up , def. 2.
-
Substitute for someone, act on someone's behalf, as in Mary was asked to cover for Joe while he was on jury duty . [c. 1970]
-
cover for something . Provide protection against some hazard, as in This policy covers the house for fire but not for theft . This idiom employs the verb to cover in the sense of “protect” or “shield,” a usage dating from the 13th century.
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.
But it now appears this was a perfunctory review intended to give Drs. Prasad and Makary cover for their initial blunder in rejecting the drug.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
Devdutt Padikkal added 61 from 26 balls and RCB captain Rajat Patidar 31 from 12, although England opener Phil Salt sliced a catch to cover for eight.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
“I had done the cover for George magazine,” Stern said on his eponymous SiriusXM radio show Monday.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
Many restaurants, after raising prices to cover for the past several years of supply shocks, are now trying to find ways to cut them after scaring customers away.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
“Look, we need to get to the bottom of all this. If neither of us are in that parlor, they’re going to come looking. I’ll cover for you as long as I can.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
