English
cover
see also: Cover
Etymology

From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō, from co- + operiō.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was “hide from view” as in its cognate covert.

Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈkʌvɚ/
  • (RP, Southern England) IPA: /ˈkʌvə/
  • (Northern England) IPA: /ˈkʊvə/
  • (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA: /ˈkʌvəɹ/
  • (Ireland) IPA: /ˈkʊvəɹ/
  • (Australia, New Zealand) IPA: /ˈkɐvə/
Noun

cover

  1. A lid.
  2. (uncountable) Area or situation which screens a person or thing from view.
    The soldiers took cover behind a ruined building.
  3. The front and back of a book, magazine, CD package, etc.
  4. The top sheet of a bed.
  5. A cloth or similar material, often fitted, placed over an item such as a car or sofa or food to protect it from dust, rain, insects, etc. when not being used.
  6. A cover charge.
    There's a $15 cover tonight.
  7. A setting at a restaurant table or formal dinner.
    We need to set another cover for the Smith party.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗:
      When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
  8. (music) A new performance or rerecording of a previously recorded song; a cover version; a cover song.
  9. (cricket) A fielding position on the off side, between point and mid off, about 30° forward of square; a fielder in this position.
  10. (combinatorics, topology) A collection (or family) of subsets of a given set, whose union contains every element of said original set.
    Hyponyms: exact cover, partition
    The open intervals are a cover for the real numbers.
  11. (philately) An envelope complete with stamps and postmarks etc.
  12. (military) A solid object, including terrain, that provides protection from enemy fire.
  13. (legal) In commercial law, a buyer’s purchase on the open market of goods similar or identical to the goods contracted for after a seller has breached a contract of sale by failure to deliver the goods contracted for.
  14. (insurance) An insurance contract; coverage by an insurance contract.
  15. (espionage) A persona maintained by a spy or undercover operative; cover story.
  16. (dated) A swindler's confederate.
  17. The portion of a slate, tile, or shingle that is hidden by the overlap of the course above.
  18. In a steam engine, the lap of a slide valve.
  19. (construction) The distance between reinforcing steel and the exterior of concrete.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • Italian: coperto, copertura finanziaria, finanziamento
  • Portuguese: taxa inclusa
  • Russian: входная плата
Translations Translations Translations
  • Italian: busta primo giorno di emissione
Translations Translations Translations Adjective

cover (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to the front cover of a book or magazine.
  2. (music) Of, pertaining to, or consisting of cover versions.
Translations Verb

cover (covers, present participle covering; simple past and past participle covered)

  1. (transitive) To place something over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
    He covered the baby with a blanket.
    When the pot comes to a boil, cover it and reduce the heat to medium.
  2. (transitive) To be over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
    The blanket covered the baby.
    • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC ↗; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC ↗, page 0016 ↗:
      A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
  3. (transitive) To be upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
    Regular hexagons can cover the plane.
  4. (transitive) To set upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
    You can cover the plane with regular hexagons.
  5. (intransitive, dated) To put on one's hat.
  6. (transitive) To invest (oneself with something); to bring upon (oneself).
    The heroic soldier covered himself with glory.
    • 1842, Henry Brougham, Political Philosophy:
      the powers that covered themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland
  7. (transitive, of a publication) To discuss thoroughly; to provide coverage of.
    The magazine covers such diverse topics as politics, news from the world of science, and the economy.
  8. (transitive) To deal with or include someone or something.
    • 2010 (publication date), "Contributors", Discover, ISSN 0274-7529, volume 32, number 1, January–February 2011, page 7:
      Richard Morgan covers science for The Economist, The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired.
  9. (transitive) To be enough money for.
    We've earned enough to cover most of our costs.
    Ten dollars should cover lunch.
  10. (transitive) To supply with funds; to settle or pay the costs for; to foot the bill for.
    Dad, when I get to University, will I be covered?
  11. (intransitive) To act as a replacement.
    I need to take off Tuesday. Can you cover for me?
  12. (transitive, broadcasting) To air or run locally originated material in place of network material during an internal spot break in a syndicated program.
    I wish that popular afternoon show would let us cover some of their commercials – their national stuff can be so annoying.
  13. (transitive) To have as an assignment or responsibility.
    Can you cover the morning shift tomorrow? I'll give you off next Monday instead.
    He is our salesman covering companies with headquarters in the northern provinces.
  14. (music, transitive) To make a cover version of (a song that was originally recorded by another artist).
  15. (military, law enforcement) To protect using an aimed firearm and the threat of firing; or to protect using continuous, heaving fire at or in the direction of the enemy so as to force the enemy to remain in cover; or to threaten using an aimed firearm.
  16. (transitive) To provide insurance coverage for.
    Does my policy cover accidental loss?
  17. (transitive) To copulate with (said of certain male animals such as dogs and horses).
    I would like to have my bitch covered next spring.
    The stallion has not covered the mare yet.
    Synonyms: impregnate
  18. (chess, transitive) To protect or control (a piece or square).
    In order to checkmate a king on the side of the board, the five squares adjacent to the king must all be covered.
  19. (transitive) To extend over a given period of time or range, to occupy, to stretch over a given area.
  20. (transitive) To traverse or put behind a certain distance.
    • 1915, Aerial Age:
      November 22 — Owing to bad weather all machines flew at a height of 5,000 feet and covered the 90 miles in just 90 minutes . November 23 — During fourth lap ...
    • 1989, Robert K. Krick, Parker's Virginia Battery, C.S.A.:
      It had covered better than 840 miles in just a few hours more than seven days.32 The apparently clumsily managed shuffle through the various railroad nets ...
  21. (transitive, dated) To arrange plates, etc. on (a table) in preparation for a meal.
    Synonyms: lay the table, set the table
  22. (sports) To defend (mark) a particular player or area.
  23. (transitive) To provide an alibi for (someone); to provide excuses or apologia for (someone); to carry water for someone.
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
Cover
Proper noun
  1. Surname.
  2. The River Cover, a river in the Yorkshire Dales.


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