INDEX:
1. to hide something especially by putting it in a secret place
2. to hide yourself
3. to hide someone or something by making them look different
4. to make something difficult to see by being in front of or over it
5. a place where you can hide
6. hidden
7. to hide your feelings
8. to hide information
9. words for describing feelings, attitudes etc that are hidden
10. when people try to hide the truth
11. when people do not try to hide the truth
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ SECRET
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1. to hide something especially by putting it in a secret place
▷ hide /haɪd/ [transitive verb]
to make something difficult to see or find, for example by putting it somewhere secret, or by covering it :
▪ Where can we hide these presents so the kids don’t find them?
hide something in/under/behind etc something
▪ They put the money in a small box and hid it under the bed.
▪ Some cameras are so small they can be hidden in a reporter’s baseball cap.
hide something from somebody
▪ I used to hide his cigarettes from him so he couldn’t smoke.
▷ conceal /kənˈsiːl/ [transitive verb] formal
to hide something carefully, especially by covering it :
conceal something in/under/behind etc something
▪ The secret police had concealed microphones in the walls.
▪ Several kilos of drugs had been concealed in the back of the truck.
▷ stash /stæʃ/ [transitive verb] informal
to hide money or something that you should not have :
stash something in/under/behind etc something
▪ Where did you stash the drugs?
▪ The late president supposedly stashed millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts.
▷ cover /ˈkʌvəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to hide something by putting something else on or over it :
▪ Embarrassed, she reached for a towel to cover her body.
cover something with something
▪ When he walked into the room, she quickly covered the letter with a pillow.
cover something up/cover up something
cover something completely
▪ You could probably cover up the scratches with a little bit of paint, and no one will ever notice.
▷ bury /ˈberi/ [transitive verb]
to hide something by putting it in or on the ground and covering it with soil, sand etc :
▪ Snakes usually bury their eggs.
bury something in/under etc something
▪ He murdered his wife and buried her body in a field.
▪ The dog buried one of my slippers in the backyard.
buried [adjective]
▪ There was supposed to be buried treasure somewhere on the island.
▷ secrete /sɪˈkriːt/ [transitive verb] formal
to carefully hide small, valuable objects :
▪ No one knew where the old woman had secreted her jewels.
secrete something in/behind/among etc something
▪ He showed me the coin briefly and then secreted it in some dark corner of his house.
2. to hide yourself
▷ hide /haɪd/ [intransitive verb]
to go somewhere where you cannot be easily found or seen :
▪ Dad’s coming. Quick - hide!
hide under/behind/in etc
▪ Dale hid behind some garbage cans in the alley until the men passed.
▪ The cat always hides under the bed when we have visitors.
hide from
▪ Why is he hiding from us? Is he afraid?
▷ go into hiding /ˌgəʊ ɪntə ˈhaɪdɪŋ/ [verb phrase]
to go to a safe place where you can hide for a long time because you are in danger or because the police are looking for you :
▪ He went into hiding soon after the government denounced him.
▪ Police believe the robbers have gone into hiding.
▷ lie low /ˌlaɪ ˈləʊ/ [verb phrase]
to hide from people who are trying to catch you, and to make sure you do not attract any attention until it is safe to come out :
▪ If you don’t want to go back to jail, you’d better lie low for a while.
▪ Weaver had been lying low at his sister’s apartment for the past week.
▷ hole up /ˌhəʊl ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to hide somewhere and not go out at all, especially because the police are looking for you :
▪ We were all planning to hole up till the trouble blew over.
hole up in/on etc something
▪ The gang holed up in a cheap hotel for a few weeks.
be holed up in/on etc something
▪ The FBI believes that Richards is holed up on an estate in Colombia.
▷ stow away /ˌstəʊ əˈweɪ/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to hide in a ship in order to travel to a place without being noticed and without paying :
▪ With no money, his only hope of getting to New York was to stow away on the next ship.
▪ Customs officials discovered several illegal immigrants stowed away at the front of the ship.
▷ conceal yourself /kənˈsiːl jɔːʳself/ [verb phrase] formal
to hide yourself carefully so that you cannot be seen :
▪ When police arrived, Black made no effort to hide or conceal herself.
conceal yourself in/beneath/behind etc
▪ It was easy for the man to conceal himself in the museum before closing time.
conceal yourself from
▪ Many spiders spin special webs to conceal themselves from danger.
▷ lie in wait /ˌlaɪ ɪn ˈweɪt/ [verb phrase]
to hide in a place in order to attack or stop someone you know will come there :
▪ The tank commander feared there might be enemy soldiers lying in wait in the hills up ahead.
lie in wait for
▪ Aitkins lay in wait for his victims and shot them as they walked toward their front door.
▷ lurk/skulk /lɜːʳk, skʌlk/ [intransitive verb]
to wait or move around in a particular area while trying not to be seen, especially because you are going to do something wrong or something you do not want other people to know about :
▪ Who’s that skulking over there?
lurk/skulk around/about
▪ Police received reports of a man lurking around the neighborhood.
lurk/skulk in/behind/under etc
▪ I’m sure I saw someone lurking in the bushes just now.
▪ He skulked along the street, looking this way and that to see if anyone was following him.
3. to hide someone or something by making them look different
▷ disguise /dɪsˈgaɪz/ [transitive verb]
to make someone or something look different in order to deceive people, for example by changing someone’s clothes or hair :
▪ The FBI say the hijackers were very likely to have been disguised.
disguise somebody/something as
▪ The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat to escape.
▪ He spent several years in the monastery disguised as a monk.
disguise yourself as
▪ She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.
▷ camouflage /ˈkæməflɑːʒ/ [transitive verb]
to hide someone or something by covering them with materials that help them to look like the surrounding area :
▪ We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves.
camouflage somebody/something with something
▪ Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.
camouflage yourself
▪ The lizards camouflage themselves by changing colour.
4. to make something difficult to see by being in front of or over it
▷ hide /haɪd/ [transitive verb]
▪ Low clouds hid the top of the mountain.
▪ Most of his face was hidden by a beard.
▪ The bushes had become overgrown and now hid the entrance to the garden.
hide something from view
▪ A pair of mirrored sunglasses hid her eyes from view.
▷ conceal /kənˈsiːl/ [transitive verb] formal
to hide something by covering it :
▪ A wide-brimmed hat concealed her graying hair.
▪ Her legs were concealed to the ankle by a loose flowing skirt.
▷ cover /ˈkʌvəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to be over something or on top of it so that it cannot be seen :
▪ The make-up didn’t cover her bruises as well as she’d hoped.
▪ He pulled back a corner of the blanket that covered the dead body.
▷ screen /skriːn/ [transitive verb]
to hide something completely by being in front of it :
▪ In the back yard, a hedge neatly screens the vegetable plot.
screen something (off) from something
▪ The house is screened from the road by a row of tall trees.
▷ blot out /ˌblɒt ˈaʊtǁˌblɑːt-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to cover something so completely that you are not able to see any of it :
blot out something
▪ The clouds of dust grew heavier till they blotted out the desert and the moon.
blot something out
▪ The shadow of someone in the back of the theater blotted the movie screen out for a moment.
5. a place where you can hide
▷ place to hide /ˌpleɪs tə ˈhaɪd/ [noun phrase]
a place where someone can hide :
▪ We were grateful for a place to hide during the raids.
▪ With the police closing in, he had no one to help him and no place to hide.
▷ hiding place /ˈhaɪdɪŋ pleɪs/ [countable noun]
a place where someone can hide, or a place where you can hide something :
▪ I’ve found a good hiding place for the money.
▪ From his hiding place in the closet, Dwayne could hear the conversation in the bedroom.
▷ hideout /ˈhaɪdaʊt/ [countable noun]
a place where someone goes to hide from the police or someone dangerous :
▪ It is believed that the guerrillas have a hideout in the southern mountains.
▪ Police raided the gang’s hideout on Thursday, arresting six people.
6. hidden
▷ hidden /ˈhɪdn/ [adjective]
▪ Under the lampshade Harry discovered a hidden microphone.
hidden under/behind/in etc
▪ She kept the letters hidden in a box in her closet.
hidden away
▪ I’ve got the kids’ presents all hidden away ready for Christmas day.
hidden from
▪ The pit was hidden from view by branches and leaves that had been laid across it.
▷ concealed /kənˈsiːld/ [adjective]
something that is concealed has been deliberately hidden by someone, especially by covering it with something or by putting something in front of it :
▪ Concealed cameras help security guards spot intruders.
concealed behind/beneath/in etc
▪ One of the pistols was concealed in the lining of her coat.
concealed by
▪ Half-concealed by the curtain, he peered out of the window.
concealed from
▪ Sacred paintings are screened off, concealed from public view.
concealed weapon
▪ The man said he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
7. to hide your feelings
▷ hide /haɪd/ [transitive verb]
to deliberately not show what you are feeling or thinking :
▪ He hides his real feelings under that big smile.
▪ ‘That’s OK,’ she said, trying to hide her disappointment.
hide something from somebody
▪ I tried to hide my anxiety from the rest of the family by pretending that everything was normal.
▷ not show /nɒt ˈʃəʊ/ [verb phrase]
to not show in your face, voice, or movements what you really think or feel :
▪ If she was surprised, she didn’t show it.
▪ My husband never shows emotion, so I never know if he’s upset.
▷ conceal /kənˈsiːl/ [transitive verb] formal
to hide your feelings or intentions especially when you have to make an effort to do this :
▪ Kim could barely conceal her annoyance that I had arrived so late.
▪ I yawned, not bothering to conceal my boredom.
conceal something from somebody
▪ Hawkins was incapable of concealing how he felt from his close friends.
▷ disguise/mask /dɪsˈgaɪz, mɑːskǁmæsk/ [transitive verb]
to avoid showing your true feelings or intentions by pretending to feel something else :
▪ Kate gave a cheerful smile, somehow managing to disguise her embarrassment.
▪ ‘That’s great!’ she cried, unable to disguise her excitement.
▪ He often masked his feelings of guilt by becoming angry at the people he had wronged.
▷ bottle up /ˌbɒtl ˈʌpǁˌbɑː-/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to not allow yourself to show your feelings, especially if you are angry, worried, or upset - use this especially when you think it would be better for someone to show their feelings so they can be dealt with :
bottle something up
▪ It’s not healthy to bottle all your feelings up like that.
▪ The anger that he had bottled up inside him finally exploded.
keep something bottled up
▪ She wanted to cry but she kept it bottled up inside.
▷ suppress /səˈpres/ [transitive verb] formal
to not allow yourself to feel or show strong feelings such as anger, sadness, or love, especially when you have difficulty controlling these feelings :
▪ She had had to suppress her feelings for George throughout his long marriage to her friend.
▪ Finally Glen could suppress his anger no longer and he lashed out at his mother.
suppression /səˈpreʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
suppress of
▪ Suppression of emotions in childhood can lead to problems in later life.
▷ repress /rɪˈpres/ [transitive verb] formal
to deliberately stop yourself from having or expressing particular feelings, especially because you are ashamed of them, in a way that may have harmful mental effects :
▪ Individuals who repress their sexual desires often suffer from psychological problems.
▪ Denying or repressing sorrow often seems the easiest way out when confronted with death.
repression /rɪˈpreʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ Much of his adult life has been marked by sexual repression and feelings of guilt.
▷ put on a brave face/put up a brave front /ˌpʊt ɒn ə ˌbreɪv ˈfeɪs, ˌpʊt ʌp ə ˌbreɪv ˈfrʌnt/ [verb phrase]
to pretend that you are happy or confident when in fact you are very upset about something but you do not want to show this :
▪ When she lost her job she put on a brave face and said it didn’t matter.
▪ Most of his teammates put up a brave front when they talked about his departure.
put on a brave face/put up a brave front on
▪ The speech was given to put a brave face on the president’s declining popularity.
8. to hide information
▷ hide /haɪd/ [transitive verb]
▪ He took off his ring to hide the fact that he was married.
▪ She somehow hid the fact she couldn’t read throughout her schooldays.
hide something from somebody
▪ The agency has been criticized for being too secretive and hiding information from the public.
have nothing to hide
▪ Ask me anything you want - I have nothing to hide.
▷ conceal /kənˈsiːl/ [transitive verb] formal
to hide facts or the truth about something, especially by not giving people enough information about it or by lying :
▪ He managed to conceal the fact that he had been in prison and so got a job as a security officer.
conceal something from somebody
▪ Several drug companies are accused of concealing information from the Food and Drug Administration.
▷ cover up /ˌkʌvər ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to do things that prevent people from finding out mistakes or unpleasant facts :
cover up something
▪ Lewis asked his wife to lie in an attempt to cover up the murder.
cover something up
▪ Kate has made some big mistakes, and she won’t be able to cover them up for long.
▷ suppress /səˈpres/ [transitive verb] formal
to prevent important facts or information from being made known in a public or official situation :
▪ Police were accused of suppressing evidence that might have proved that the men were innocent.
▪ The CIA has often tried to suppress reports that are embarrassing to the agency.
▷ cover your tracks /ˌkʌvəʳ jɔːʳ ˈtræks/ [verb phrase] informal
to make a careful and deliberate attempt to stop people finding out about something wrong or criminal that you have done, by telling lies, hiding facts etc :
▪ She covered her tracks by saying that she’d been at a friend’s house all that evening.
▪ Davis covered his tracks so well that no one could prove he had received any of the money.
▷ sweep something under the carpet /ˌswiːp something ʌndəʳ ðə ˈkɑːʳpə̇t/ [verb phrase] informal
to try to keep something wrong that has happened a secret :
▪ All the evidence pointing to McKay’s guilt has been swept under the carpet.
▪ Before the scandal broke, an attempt had been made to sweep the senator’s illegal activities under the carpet.
9. words for describing feelings, attitudes etc that are hidden
▷ hidden /ˈhɪdn/ [adjective]
▪ He’s always joking around to make sure his true feelings stay hidden.
▪ Even after years of psychiatric treatment, she was full of hidden anger.
hidden talents
abilities that you did not know someone had
▪ You can dance and sing! I never realized you had so many hidden talents.
hidden meaning
▪ The lyrics of most of his songs have some hidden meaning.
▷ disguised /dɪsˈgaɪzd/ [adjective]
feelings or attitudes that are disguised are kept hidden, but usually not very well :
▪ ‘OK, I’ll do it,’ she said with barely disguised hostility.
thinly disguised
hardly disguised at all
▪ The speech was seen by many as a thinly disguised attack on the President.
▷ suppressed /səˈprest/ [adjective]
strong feelings, such as anger, fear, or happiness, that are suppressed are ones that you do not allow yourself to feel or show :
▪ He is full of suppressed anger and needs to find some way of releasing it.
▪ The intensity of the trial caused her long-suppressed emotions to come out in the open.
▷ repressed /rɪˈprest/ [adjective]
feelings that are repressed are ones that you deliberately stop yourself from feeling, or have been taught not to feel from when you were a child, especially feelings that you are ashamed of :
▪ The Victorian era is characterized by its strict conventions and repressed emotion.
▪ I had a lot of repressed anger toward my family that I didn’t realize till my father died.
▷ veiled /veɪld/ [adjective usually before noun]
a veiled threat, warning etc is one that you do not make directly, but deliberately do not hide well, so that the person you are dealing with understands what your real intention is :
▪ His attempt to get us to help him is just a veiled form of blackmail.
▪ Her comments were nothing more than a veiled criticism of my work.
thinly veiled
only slightly hidden
▪ The opposition leader has made thinly veiled threats of violence.
10. when people try to hide the truth
▷ cover-up /ˈkʌvər ʌp/ [countable noun]
a deliberate plan to prevent mistakes or embarrassing information, especially about politicians or other people in official positions, from being publicly known :
▪ The Watergate cover-up eventually led to Nixon’s resignation.
cover-up of
▪ Some people suspect that government officials were involved in a cover-up of the incident.
▷ whitewash /ˈwaɪtwɒʃǁ-wɑːʃ, -wɔːʃ/ [singular noun]
an attempt by a government or official committee to hide the true facts of a situation from the public, especially when there was supposed to have been an official and fair examination of these facts :
▪ A Greenpeace spokesperson described the official report on nuclear waste disposal as a whitewash.
▷ cover /ˈkʌvəʳ/ [singular noun]
something that you do or say as a way of hiding your true actions or intentions, especially when these are illegal or dishonest :
▪ The ceasefire turned out to be just a cover to gain time to prepare another attack.
▪ For years he had used his position at the United Nations as a cover for his spying activities.
▷ front /frʌnt/ [singular noun]
something such as an organization or a type of behaviour that seems to be normal but is used to hide what is really happening :
▪ She puts on this ‘innocent little girl’ act, but it’s all a front.
▪ The car rental company is actually a front for a drugs ring.
▷ smokescreen /ˈsməʊkskriːn/ [singular noun]
something that is done or said in order to take people’s attention away from other things that could be embarrassing or less acceptable :
▪ The administration’s emphasis on the drop in inflation is just a smokescreen to divert attention from rising unemployment.
11. when people do not try to hide the truth
▷ open /ˈəʊpən/ [adjective]
▪ I try to be open and honest with my employees and let them know exactly what’s going on.
▪ Some of her former supporters are now expressing open hostility to her leadership.
openly [adverb]
▪ The family talks openly now about Bill’s depression and suicide.