/ ˈkʌvə(r); NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
HIDE / PROTECT
1.
[ vn ] cover sth (with sth) to place sth over or in front of sth in order to hide or protect it :
Cover the chicken loosely with foil.
She covered her face with her hands.
( figurative )
He laughed to cover (= hide) his nervousness.
➡ note at hide
SPREAD OVER SURFACE
2.
[ vn ] to lie or spread over the surface of sth :
Snow covered the ground.
Much of the country is covered by forest.
3.
[ vn ] cover sb/sth in / with sth to put or spread a layer of liquid, dust, etc. on sb/sth :
The players were soon covered in mud.
The wind blew in from the desert and covered everything with sand.
INCLUDE
4.
[ vn ] to include sth; to deal with sth :
The survey covers all aspects of the business.
The lectures covered a lot of ground (= a lot of material, subjects, etc.) .
the sales team covering the northern part of the country (= selling to people in that area)
Do the rules cover (= do they apply to) a case like this?
MONEY
5.
[ vn ] to be or provide enough money for sth :
$100 should cover your expenses.
Your parents will have to cover your tuition fees.
The show barely covered its costs .
DISTANCE / AREA
6.
[ vn ] to travel the distance mentioned :
By sunset we had covered thirty miles.
They walked for a long time and covered a good deal of ground .
7.
[ vn ] to spread over the area mentioned :
The reserve covers an area of some 1 140 square kilometres.
REPORT NEWS
8.
[ vn ] to report on an event for television, a newspaper, etc.; to show an event on television :
She's covering the party's annual conference.
The BBC will cover all the major games of the tournament.
FOR SB
9.
[ v ] cover for sb to do sb's work or duties while they are away :
I'm covering for Jane while she's on leave.
10.
[ v ] cover for sb to invent a lie or an excuse that will stop sb from getting into trouble :
I have to go out for a minute—will you cover for me if anyone asks where I am?
WITH INSURANCE
11.
cover sb/sth (against / for sth) to protect sb against loss, injury, etc. by insurance :
[ vn ]
Are you fully covered for fire and theft?
[ vn to inf ]
Does this policy cover my husband to drive?
AGAINST BLAME
12.
[ vn ] cover yourself (against sth) to take action in order to protect yourself against being blamed for sth :
One reason doctors take temperatures is to cover themselves against negligence claims.
WITH GUN
13.
[ vn ] to protect sb by threatening to shoot at anyone who tries to attack them :
Cover me while I move forward.
14.
[ vn ] to aim a gun at a place or person so that nobody can escape or shoot :
The police covered the exits to the building.
Don't move—we've got you covered !
SONG
15.
[ vn ] to record a new version of a song that was originally recorded by another band or singer :
They've covered an old Rolling Stones number.
•
IDIOMS
- cover all the bases
- cover your back
- cover your tracks
—more at multitude
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- cover sth in
- cover sth over
- cover up | cover yourself up
- cover sth up
■ noun
PROTECTION / SHELTER
1.
[ C ] a thing that is put over or on another thing, usually to protect it or to decorate it :
a cushion cover
a plastic waterproof cover for the stroller
—picture at Petri dish
—see also dust cover , loose cover
2.
[ U ] a place that provides shelter from bad weather or protection from an attack :
Everyone ran for cover when it started to rain.
The climbers took cover from the storm in a cave.
After the explosion the street was full of people running for cover .
OF BOOK
3.
[ C ] the outside of a book or a magazine :
the front / back cover
Her face was on the cover (= the front cover) of every magazine.
He always reads the paper from cover to cover (= everything in it) .
INSURANCE
4.
( BrE ) ( NAmE cov·er·age ) [ U ] cover (against sth) protection that an insurance company provides by promising to pay you money if a particular event happens :
accident cover
cover against accidental damage
WITH WEAPONS
5.
[ U ] support and protection that is provided when sb is attacking or in danger of being attacked :
The ships needed air cover (= protection by military planes) once they reached enemy waters.
TREES / PLANTS
6.
[ U ] trees and plants that grow on an area of land :
The total forest cover of the earth is decreasing.
CLOUD / SNOW
7.
[ U ] the fact of the sky being covered with cloud or the ground with snow :
Fog and low cloud cover are expected this afternoon.
In this area there is snow cover for six months of the year.
ON BED
8.
the covers [ pl. ] the sheets, blankets , etc. on a bed :
She threw back the covers and leapt out of bed.
SONG
9.
[ C ] = cover version
HIDING STH
10.
[ C , usually sing. ] cover (for sth) activities or behaviour that seem honest or true but that hide sb's real identity or feelings, or that hide sth illegal :
His work as a civil servant was a cover for his activities as a spy.
Her over-confident attitude was a cover for her nervousness.
It would only take one phone call to blow their cover (= make known their true identities and what they were really doing) .
FOR SB'S WORK
11.
[ U ] the fact of sb doing another person's job when they are away or when there are not enough staff :
It's the manager's job to organize cover for staff who are absent.
Ambulance drivers provided only emergency cover during the dispute.
•
IDIOMS
- break cover
- under cover
- under (the) cover of sth
- under separate cover
—more at judge verb
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French covrir , from Latin cooperire , from co- (expressing intensive force) + operire to cover. The noun is partly a variant of covert .