cover

Universal Words verb, noun verb hide / protect 1 [VN] ~ 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. 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] ~ 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 1140 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] ~ 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] ~ 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 ~ sb/sth (against / for sth) to protect sb against loss, injury, etc. by insurance: [VN] Are you fully covered for fire and theft? * [VNtoinf] Does this policy cover my husband to drive? against blame 12 [VN] ~ 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. * The artillery gave us covering fire (= shot to protect us). 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 your tracks to try and hide what you have done, because you do not want other people to find out about it: He had attempted to cover his tracks by making her death appear like suicide. moreatMULTITUDE PHRASALVERBS cover sth<->in to put a covering or roof over an open space cover sth<->over to cover sth completely so that it cannot be seen: The Roman remains are now covered over by office buildings. cover up