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.
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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]
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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.
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
"The government initially played down the affair to cover for the real political culprits," Koukakis told AFP in an interview a few months ago.
From Barron's
They could have been a Norman Rockwell cover for the Saturday Evening Post, the magazine that cheered on Americans after they entered World War Two.
From BBC
"It was a tacky wicket as it was under cover for a while. After losing a few wickets, it was tough to get back into the game."
From Barron's
"We weren't going to be covered for that, because we didn't put his name on the insurance policy."
From BBC
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.
