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• cover-up
  cover-up

  noun

  any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.
• cover up
  cover up

  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]

cover-up

American  

[kuhv-er-uhp] / ˈkʌv ərˌʌp /

noun

• cover-ups
  plural

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.

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cover-up British  

noun

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

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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

cover up Idioms  

1. 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]

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cover-ups
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cover-up

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cover-up cover up cover-ups

Asymmetric said it could not determine whether the agents' cover-up was deliberate.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

He spoke to Reed and the super PAC’s lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, and began to hatch a cover-up.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

She walked her across the street where she bought a cover-up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

But moviegoers won’t soon forget her impressive turn, communicating the stakes of a massive cover-up that sought to prevent the knowledge of aliens walking among humanity for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

If it was a cover-up, it was a very bad one.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

But to ward off skeeters, better to either cover up skin with clothing or simply avoid areas and times of day when mosquitoes are most active.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

Protester Annette accused the government of "trying to cover" up the problem.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Officials later found that dozens of provincial officials and hospital staff attempted to cover up the incident by tampering with blood tests and accepting bribes from a nursery investor.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The naughty language can’t cover up the lack of a more profound explanation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Plus, I'd grown accustomed to the eclectic collection of scarves Mamani used to cover up her gray curls.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

His work as an MP partly led to the Hillsborough Law, which was passed last week and is intended to prevent cover-ups linked to failures of the state.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Can you lay out the lies and fabrications and cover-ups?

From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2025

"There is a culture of cover-ups," one told the BBC.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025

These captured the world's imagination, attracting journalists from around the globe and leading to claims of conspiracies, cover-ups and cheap publicity stunts.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025

In turn, Patel tweeted a pledge that “There will be no cover-ups, no missing documents.”

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2025

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Related Words

• complicity
• conspiracy
• evasion

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