cover-up

[kuhv-er-uhp]

noun

1. any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.

2. 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

noun

1. concealment or attempted concealment of a mistake, crime, etc

verb

1. (tr) to cover completely

2. to attempt to conceal (a mistake or crime)

   she tried to cover up for her friend

3. (intr) boxing to defend the body and head with the arms

Word History and Origins

Origin of cover-up¹

First recorded in 1925–30; noun use of verb phrase cover up

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Conceal something, especially a crime, as in The opposition accused the President of covering up his assistant's suicide . [c. 1920]

Example Sentences

Too often the result has been cover-up and delay with no meaningful sanctions.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And it sure smacks of a cover-up, if you just look at it.

Read more on Salon

Meanwhile, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but denied knowledge of a homicide.

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The agent was arrested shortly after the killing, but prosecutors now say he was freed and whisked away as part of a cover-up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"A cover-up by the very institutions that are supposed to protect and to serve. It is nothing less than a stain of modern history of this country."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• complicity 
• conspiracy 
• evasion