covering

[ kuhv-er-ing ]

/ ˈkʌv ər ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR covering ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something laid over or wrapped around a thing, especially for concealment, protection, or warmth.

the buying of securities or commodities that one has sold short, in order to return them to the person from whom they were borrowed.

RELATED WORDS

shelter, housing, cover, integument

Nearby words

coverdale, miles, covered, covered bridge, covered wagon, covered-dish supper, covering, covering fire, covering letter, covering power, coverlet, coverley

Origin of covering

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at cover, -ing¹

Definition for covering (2 of 2)

cover

[ kuhv-er ]

/ ˈkʌv ər /

verb (used with object)

to be or serve as a covering for; extend over; rest on the surface of: Snow covered the fields.

to place something over or upon, as for protection, concealment, or warmth.

to provide with a covering or top: Cover the pot with a lid.

to protect or conceal (the body, head, etc.) with clothes, a hat, etc; wrap.

to bring upon (oneself): He covered himself with glory by his exploits.

to hide from view; screen.

to spread on or over; apply to: to cover bread with honey.

to put all over the surface of: to cover a wall with paint.

to include, deal with, or provide for; address: The rules cover working conditions.

to suffice to defray or meet (a charge, expense, etc.): Ten dollars should cover my expenses.

to offset (an outlay, loss, liability, etc.).

to achieve in distance traversed; pass or travel over: We covered 600 miles a day on our trip.

Journalism.

to act as a reporter or reviewer of (an event, a field of interest, a performance, etc.); have as an assignment: She covers sports for the paper.
to publish or broadcast a report or reports of (a news item, a series of related events, etc.): The press covered the trial in great detail.

to pass or rise over and surmount or envelop: The river covered the town during the flood.

Insurance. to insure against risk or loss.

to shelter; protect; serve as a defense for.

Military.

to be in line with by occupying a position directly before or behind.
to protect (a soldier, force, or military position) during an expected period of ground combat by taking a position from which any hostile troops can be fired upon.

to take temporary charge of or responsibility for in place of another: Please cover my phone while I'm out to lunch.

to extend over; comprise: The book covers 18th-century England.

to be assigned to or responsible for, as a territory or field of endeavor: We have two sales representatives covering the Southwest.

to aim at, as with a pistol.

to have within range, as a fortress does adjacent territory.

to play a card higher than (the one led or previously played in the round).

to deposit the equivalent of (money deposited), as in wagering.

to accept the conditions of (a bet, wager, etc.).

(in short selling) to purchase securities or commodities in order to deliver them to the broker from whom they were borrowed.

Baseball. to take a position close to or at (a base) so as to catch a ball thrown to the base: The shortstop covered second on the attempted steal.

Sports. to guard (an opponent on offense) so as to prevent him or her from scoring or carrying out his or her assignment: to cover a potential pass receiver.

(especially of a male animal) to copulate with.

(of a hen) to brood or sit on (eggs or chicks).

verb (used without object)

Informal. to serve as a substitute for someone who is absent: We cover for the receptionist during lunch hour.

to hide the wrongful or embarrassing action of another by providing an alibi or acting in the other's place: They covered for him when he missed roll call.

to play a card higher than the one led or previously played in the round: She led the eight and I covered with the jack.

to spread over an area or surface, especially for the purpose of obscuring an existing covering or of achieving a desired thickness and evenness: This paint is much too thin to cover.

noun

something that covers, as the lid of a container or the binding of a book.

a blanket, quilt, or the like: Put another cover on the bed.

protection; shelter; concealment.

anything that veils, screens, or shuts from sight: under cover of darkness.

woods, underbrush, etc., serving to shelter and conceal wild animals or game; a covert.

Ecology. vegetation that serves to protect or conceal animals, such as birds, from excessive sunlight, from drying, or from predators.

a set of eating utensils and the like, as plate, knife, fork, and napkin, placed for each person at a table.

an assumed identity, occupation, or business that masks the true or real one: His job at the embassy was a cover for his work as a spy.

a covering of snow, especially when suitable for skiing.

a pretense; feigning.

a person who substitutes for another or stands ready to substitute if needed: She was hired as a cover for six roles at the opera house.

cover charge.

Philately.

an envelope or outer wrapping for mail.
a letter folded so that the address may be placed on the outside and the missive mailed.

Finance. funds to cover liability or secure against risk of loss.

Music. cover version.

Also called covering. Mathematics. a collection of sets having the property that a given set is contained in the union of the sets in the collection.

Verb Phrases

cover up,

to cover completely; enfold.
to keep secret; conceal: She tried to cover up her part in the plot.

Origin of cover

1200–50; Middle English coveren < Old French covrir < Latin cooperīre to cover completely, equivalent to co- co- + operīre to shut, close, cover (op-, apparently for ob- ob- + -erīre; see aperient)

SYNONYMS FOR cover

2 overlay, overspread, envelop, enwrap.

6 cloak, conceal.

11 counterbalance, compensate for.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cover ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

cov·er·a·ble, adjectivecov·er·er, nouncov·er·less, adjectivehalf-cov·ered, adjective

pre·cov·er, verb (used with object)well-cov·ered, adjective

Synonym study

37, 38. 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 artillary 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for covering

She jumps on his back, mock-choking him and covering his eyes.
Sia and Shia LaBeouf’s Pedophilia Nontroversy Over ‘Elastic Heart’|Marlow Stern|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A spandex mask stretched over his face, covering his eyes and nose.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau|Ian Frisch|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Because you were covering up for actions that may or may not have been legally authorized.
After Torture Report, Our Moral Authority As a Nation Is Gone|Nick Gillespie|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Random House is also covering the legal fees of an innocent man called Barry who was caught up in the storm.
The Right's Rape Trolls vs. Lena Dunham|Emily Shire|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Covering 13 acres of a landfill no longer in use in West Nyack, it has a generating capacity of 2.36 megawatts.
Garbage In, Power Out|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I wandered on, heavy sniping hissing over my head or into the parapet, covering me with clay occasionally.
Letters of Lt.-Col. George Brenton Laurie|George Brenton Laurie
Lucy was prepared for her look of surprise, but not so for her covering her face with her hands and bursting into tears.
Lucy Raymond|Agnes Maule Machar
His idea was to build a series of traps all about the barn, covering every approach.
Frank Roscoe's Secret|Allen Chapman
Cope′-stone, Cop′ing-stone, the stone which copes or tops a wall; Cop′ing, the covering course of masonry of a wall.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
A motor rushed past her, covering her with dust and causing her to clench her hands in anger.
The Halo|Bettina von Hutten

British Dictionary definitions for covering (1 of 2)

covering

/ (ˈkʌvərɪŋ) /

noun

another word for cover (def. 24)

British Dictionary definitions for covering (2 of 2)

cover

/ (ˈkʌvə) /

verb (mainly tr)

to place or spread something over so as to protect or conceal

to provide with a covering; clothe

to put a garment, esp a hat, on (the body or head)

to extend over or lie thickly on the surface of; spreadsnow covered the fields

to bring upon (oneself); invest (oneself) as if with a coveringcovered with shame

(sometimes foll by up) to act as a screen or concealment for; hide from view

military to protect (an individual, formation, or place) by taking up a position from which fire may be returned if those being protected are fired upon

(also intr, often foll by for) to assume responsibility for (a person or thing)to cover for a colleague in his absence

(intr; foll by for or up for) to provide an alibi (for)

to have as one's territorythis salesman covers your area

to travel overto cover three miles a day

(tr) to have or place in the aim and within the range of (a firearm)

to include or deal withhis talk covered all aspects of the subject

(of an asset or income) to be sufficient to meet (a liability or expense)

to insure against loss, risk, etc
to provide for (loss, risk, etc) by insurance

(also intr) finance to purchase (securities, etc) in order to meet contracts, esp short sales

to deposit (an equivalent stake) in a bet or wager

(also intr) to play a card higher in rank than (one played beforehand by another player)

to act as reporter or photographer on (a news event, etc) for a newspaper or magazineto cover sports events

sport to guard or protect (an opponent, team-mate, or area)

music to record a cover version of

(of a male animal, esp a horse) to copulate with (a female animal)

(of a bird) to brood (eggs)

noun

anything that covers, spreads over, protects, or conceals

woods or bushes providing shelter or a habitat for wild creatures

a blanket used on a bed for warmth
another word for bedspread

finance liquid assets, reserves, or guaranteed income sufficient to discharge a liability, meet an expenditure, etc

a pretext, disguise, or false identitythe thief sold brushes as a cover

insurance another word for coverage (def. 3)

an envelope or package for sending through the postunder plain cover

philately

an entire envelope that has been postmarked
on cover (of a postage stamp) kept in this form by collectors

an individual table setting, esp in a restaurant

sport the guarding or protection of an opponent, team-mate, or area

Also called: cover version a version by a different artist of a previously recorded musical item

cricket

(often plural) the area more or less at right angles to the pitch on the off side and usually about halfway to the boundaryto field in the covers
(as modifier)a cover drive by a batsman
Also called: cover point a fielder in such a position

ecology the percentage of the ground surface covered by a given species of plant

break cover (esp of game animals) to come out from a shelter or hiding place

take cover to make for a place of safety or shelter

under cover protected, concealed, or in secretunder cover of night

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

Word Origin and History for covering (1 of 2)

cover

mid-12c., from Old French covrir (12c., Modern French couvrir) "to cover, protect, conceal, dissemble," from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperire "to cover over, overwhelm, bury," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + operire "to close, cover" (see weir). Related: Covered; covering. Military sense is from 1680s; newspaper sense first recorded 1893; use in football dates from 1907. Betting sense is 1857. OF horses, as a euphemism for "copulate" it dates from 1530s. Covered wagon attested from 1745.

Word Origin and History for covering (1 of 2)

cover

early 13c., in compounds, from cover (v.). Meaning "recording of a song already recorded by another" is 1966. Cover girl is U.S. slang from 1915, shortening of magazine-cover girl.

Idioms and Phrases with covering

cover

In addition to the idioms beginning with cover

cover for
cover girl
cover ground
cover one's ass
cover one's tracks
cover story
cover the field
cover up

also see:

blow one's cover
break cover
judge a book by its cover
(cover a) multitude of sins
take cover
under cover

covering

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of covering

Definition for covering (2 of 2)

cover

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of cover

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for covering

British Dictionary definitions for covering (1 of 2)

covering

noun

British Dictionary definitions for covering (2 of 2)

cover

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for cover

Word Origin and History for covering (1 of 2)

cover

Word Origin and History for covering (1 of 2)

cover

Idioms and Phrases with covering

cover