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definitions

cover story

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cover story ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a magazine article highlighted by an illustration on the cover.
a fabricated story used to conceal a true purpose; alibi: No one believed the cover story released to the press.

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RELATED WORDS

alibi, ploy, ruse, excuse, guise, pretense, justification, apology, trick, rationalization, pretext, substitute, stratagem, plea, show, color, appearance, device, affectation, simulation

Origin of cover story

First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cover story

Contemporary Examples of cover story

Idioms and Phrases with cover story

cover story

1

A featured story in a magazine that concerns the illustration on the cover, as in The earthquake is this week's cover story for all the news magazines. [Mid-1900s]

2

A false story intended to mislead or deceive; also, an alibi. For example, Their cover story while investigating local repair services was that they had just bought the house and were having problems, or The suspect gave the police some cover story about being held up. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.