uncover
Americanverb (used with object)
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uncovers,
present (3rd person singular)
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uncovered,
past participle, past
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uncovering
present participle
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to lay bare; disclose; reveal.
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to remove the cover or covering from.
-
to remove a hat from (the head).
verb (used without object)
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uncovers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
uncovered,
past participle, past
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uncovering
present participle
-
to remove a cover or covering.
-
to take off one's hat or other head covering as a gesture of respect.
verb
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(tr) to remove the cover, cap, top, etc, from
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(tr) to reveal or disclose
to uncover a plot
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to take off (one's head covering), esp as a mark of respect
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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uncoversimple
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uncoverssimple
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have uncoveredperfect
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has uncoveredperfect
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am uncoveringprogressive
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are uncoveringprogressive
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is uncoveringprogressive
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have been uncoveringperfect progressive
-
has been uncoveringperfect progressive
Past
-
uncoveredsimple
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had uncoveredperfect
-
was uncoveringprogressive
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were uncoveringprogressive
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had been uncoveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of uncover
First recorded in 1250–1300, uncover is from the Middle English word uncoveren. See un- 2, cover
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:
Flock’s audit tools are helping uncover misuse, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The family's legal team helped to uncover council documents which they say show asbestos was used "quite extensively" at the site during Caroline's time there in the 1990s.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Slate’s Steffi Cao set out to uncover just how the chain became such a phenomenon—and what its rise reveals about consumer desire, brand loyalty, and the future of American fast food.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
"The mechanism responsible for the emergence of this second phase has long been debated, and our approach provides a powerful new way to uncover the hidden physics behind phase transitions in quantum materials," Gedik says.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Other prisoners, meanwhile, began to share information, allowing White to uncover what was described as a system of “gilded favoritism and millionaire immunity.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Individualized investigation, rather than annual paperwork, is what uncovers discrimination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
If the inspection uncovers major issues, that information can be used as leverage to either exit the contract or negotiate a lower price or other concessions.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 12, 2026
Research uncovers how our behaviors can influence cancer risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
A conservator uncovers the shard, which bears an intense blue figure of a skylark — evidence, at least to the reader, that Alouette’s recipe endured, and a symbol of how both she and Sasha escaped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026
The Belle slowly uncovers her face, but her back is to me, and I can see nothing.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
It uncovered the government documents through a Freedom of Information Act request.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Their previous work uncovered another important consequence of the black hole's tidal forces.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
And recent reporting by the Washington Post uncovered at least 50 instances nationwide in which law enforcement officials were accused of misusing their access to the cameras, largely to stalk former romantic partners or citizens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Among the company’s biggest customers was Enron, the energy company that infamously filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after widespread internal fraud was uncovered.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
He had masqueraded at the hospital for eight years conducting competency evaluations on people accused of crimes before his fraud was uncovered.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
But the uncovering of larger quantities at the beginning of August is what caught the attention of many people.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
“A lot of sand has been carved away, uncovering things that haven’t seen the light of day in decades,” Yacenda said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
But team principal Ayao Komatsu has said it coincided with the team uncovering what he described as a "fundamental weakness" of the car with regard to a lack of high-speed downforce.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Over the next three months, Valerie, Hannah Critchfield and I peeled back every layer of Nancy’s disappearance, uncovering a trail of bad breaks and tragic missteps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Suddenly, he flipped the mattress off the bed, uncovering the bars that held the mattress in place.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
