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:
She walked her across the street where she bought a cover-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Ockenden added Harriet's death "was compounded by a systemic cover-up and investigations designed to mislead, which took a profound toll on the couple's wellbeing".
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
What started as an innocent mistake has ended up as a bad cover-up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
She said: "It has played into the terrible narrative that there is something to hide and good, decent colleagues will be accused of being complicit in a cover-up."
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
At Senate hearings, John Dean testified that he had talked with the president more than thirty times about details of the cover-up.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The naughty language can’t cover up the lack of a more profound explanation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
I put Helena and Dziusia to work, laying down hay and making a nesting place in the little hallway with the ladder, which will also help cover up the height of the floor.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Can you lay out the lies and fabrications and cover-ups?
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2025
The government said the new legislation would "end the culture of cover-ups" and learn lessons from wider disasters including the Grenfell Tower fire and the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
In turn, Patel tweeted a pledge that “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents.”
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2025
Sussex Police is examining concerns about avoidable harm and cover-ups in the trust's neurosurgery and general surgery departments between 2015 and 2021.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2025
He previously said while Labour leader that the law would help prevent cover-ups like the infected blood and Post Office scandals.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 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.
