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Idioms about cover

Origin of cover

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English coveren, coueren, coouer, from Old French covrir, couvrir, cuvrir, from Latin cooperīre “to cover completely,” equivalent to co-, an intensive prefix + operīre “to shut, close, cover”; see origin at co-, aperient

synonym study for cover

38, 39. Cover, protection, screen, shelter mean a defense against harm or danger and a provision for safety. The main idea in cover is that of concealment, as in darkness, in a wood, or behind something: The ground troops were left without cover when the air force was withdrawn. Screen refers especially to something behind which one can hide: A well-aimed artillery fire formed a screen for ground operations. Protection and shelter emphasize the idea of a guard or defense, a shield against injury or death. A protection is any such shield: In World War II, an air cover of airplanes served as a protection for troops. A shelter is something that covers over and acts as a place of refuge: An abandoned monastery acted as a shelter.

OTHER WORDS FROM cover

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cover in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cover

cover
/ (ˈkʌvə) /

verb (mainly tr)
noun
See also cover-up

Derived forms of cover

coverable, adjectivecoverer, nouncoverless, adjective

Word Origin for cover

C13: from Old French covrir, from Latin cooperīre to cover completely, from operīre to cover over
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with cover

cover

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