cover

cov|er1 [ `kʌvər ] verb transitive ***

▸ 1 put something over something else

▸ 2 be all over something

▸ 3 include and deal with

▸ 4 report/describe

▸ 5 provide insurance

▸ 6 have enough money for

▸ 7 travel a distance

▸ 8 perform someone else's song

▸ 9 point a gun at someone

▸ 10 in sports

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) cover or cover up to put one thing over another, in order to protect or hide it:

Cover the food until you are ready to eat it.

cover someone/something with something: They covered her with a blanket.

be covered with/by something: The floor was covered with a sheet of plastic.

a ) to be on top of something:

A rug covered the hole in the carpet.

b ) to put your hands over your eyes, ears, or mouth:

Bob covered his eyes, unable to look at the body.

2. ) to be all over a surface or object:

Bruises covered his entire body.

be covered with/in something: His clothes were covered in mud.

All the furniture was covered with dust.

a ) to spread something all over a surface or object:

They covered the path with rose petals.

b ) to spread or lie all over an area of land:

Dense forest covers the lower slopes of the mountain.

3. ) to include and deal with a particular situation, subject, period of history, etc.:

Section 5 covers vacation allowances for part-time workers.

Her new book covers the period from 1870 to 1918.

The program covers all aspects of health and safety at work.

a ) if a law, rule, or contract covers a particular situation, type of person, etc., it includes or deals with that situation or person: APPLY TO:

The rights of unmarried fathers are not covered by this legislation.

4. ) to give a report or description of an event on television or radio, or in a newspaper:

We will be covering the game live on Saturday afternoon.

Clare Gray covered the Paris fashion shows for the paper.

5. ) if an insurance agreement covers a situation or person, it provides protection against loss for that situation or person:

The warranty does not cover damage caused by misuse of the product.

cover someone for something: His car insurance covers him for business use.

cover someone to do something: Are you covered to drive a truck?

cover someone against something: You need to be covered against fire.

6. ) to have enough money to pay for something:

We need $700 a month to cover the rent.

7. ) to travel a particular distance:

We had to cover the last three miles on foot.

8. ) to perform or record a song that was first performed by someone else:

Her new album covers some old Beatles classics.

9. ) to protect someone from attack by pointing a gun at someone who might shoot them:

His partner covered him while he ran across the prison yard.

a ) to prevent someone from moving or escaping by pointing a gun toward them:

You go first while we cover the back door.

10. ) in some sports, to stay very close to an opposing player in order to prevent them from scoring a goal or getting a point

cover all the bases

to deal with every possible thing that could happen or that people could want:

We think the agreement covers all the bases for a lasting peace.

cover your ass/butt AMERICAN INFORMAL

to take action to protect yourself against criticism, blame, or legal problems

cover your tracks

to try to hide evidence of something bad that you have done:

Whoever had taken the money had covered their tracks pretty well.

cover yourself or cover your back

to take action to protect yourself against criticism, blame, or legal problems:

They put a warning on the packaging just to cover themselves.

`cover for phrasal verb transitive cover for someone

1. ) to do someone's work while they are sick or not there:

I'm just covering for Mrs. Tyler, so please bear with me.

2. ) to protect someone from punishment, for example by telling a lie for them:

If Pauline asks where I am, will you cover for me?

,cover `up phrasal verb

1. ) transitive same as COVER1 1

2. ) intransitive or transitive to put more clothes or covers on your body, to hide it or keep it warm:

It's freezing outside, so cover up.

When dad saw my short skirt he told me to cover myself up.

3. ) intransitive or transitive to hide the truth about something by not telling what you know or by preventing other people from telling what they know:

It was a real scandal, but the school tried to cover the whole thing up.

cover up for: He got his powerful friends to cover up for him.

cover

cov|er 2 [ `kʌvər ] noun ***

▸ 1 for putting over something

▸ 2 outside of book/CD

▸ 3 place for shelter/hiding

▸ 4 protection from attack

▸ 5 for hiding secret/crime

▸ 6 of song

▸ 7 cover charge

▸ 8 place in restaurant

▸ 9 sheets/blankets

▸ 10 insurance agreement

▸ 11 doing someone else's work

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) count something that you put over something else in order to hide it, protect it, or close it:

She put plastic covers on all the furniture.

cushion covers

2. ) count the outside page at the front or back of a book or magazine:

Her face was once on the cover of Vogue magazine.

read something from cover to cover (=read it all): On the airplane I read the newspaper from cover to cover.

a ) the paper or CARDBOARD on the front of a record or CD

3. ) uncount places such as buildings or trees where people or animals can hide or shelter from the weather:

The troops had to run across open fields with no cover.

run for cover/take cover: Everybody ran for cover as the hail started to fall.

break cover (=come out from a shelter): We waited patiently for the lions to break cover.

4. ) uncount protection from attack, especially from someone with a gun:

give cover: Detective Philips entered the house while the other officers gave cover.

5. ) count a legal business that is used for hiding an illegal or secret activity:

cover for: His import-export company was a cover for a drug-smuggling operation.

a ) a false story that is used for hiding who someone really is:

His cover was that he was just released from prison and was interested in joining the gang.

blow someone's cover (=to tell people who someone really is): She had to leave the country after her cover was blown.

6. ) cover or cover version count a song that is recorded by someone who is not the original performer:

They did a brilliant cover of the old Abba song.

7. ) count or uncount AMERICAN a COVER CHARGE

8. ) count a place for one person at a table in a restaurant

9. ) the covers plural sheets and BLANKETS that you lie under in bed:

He pulled the covers up and turned out the light.

10. ) uncount BRITISH COVERAGE that an insurance agreement gives you

11. ) uncount BRITISH an arrangement in which a person does the work of someone who is away from work

under cover

pretending to be someone else in order to find out secret information:

go/work under cover: Working under cover is one of the most dangerous types of police work.

under cover of night/darkness

hidden by darkness:

They planned to attack under cover of darkness.

under separate cover

used in a letter for saying that something will be sent separately