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to cover

to cover

3 7.0
To play a higher card than the one just played
  • verb
  • /ˈkʌvər/
  • Jargon
translation icon : cubrir
  • In the game of Hearts, when he plays a Queen, I must quickly cover it with a King.

Examples

  • You're not supposed to cover the aces in this trick.

  • Chen drops a Jack of hearts on the pile, covers it uncontested, and takes a five from Phan's ever-shrinking pile.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • If you play a low card, your goal is to cover it with a higher one to win the trick.

  • During the card game, she decided to cover his Ace with her King to take control.

Idioms

to cover one's ass
  • Offensive
32 9.8

To take steps to protect yourself from blame, often by keeping records or blaming others

To deal with a larger area or more topics

Decide something about a person or thing by how they look

Phrasal Verbs

314 3.7

To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it

to cover for
  • Informal
156 4.4

To do or say something to hide someone's bad action

69 3.4

To move to a place that protects you from danger or bad weather

To come out of hiding into the open

To read every page of a book or magazine from start to finish

Compounds

cover-up
  • Literature
137 5.5

An attempt to hide a crime or scandal from the public

cover letter
  • Formal
16 3.5

A short letter you send with a job application to introduce yourself and say why you fit the job

15 3.4

The amount of sky covered by clouds

10 3.8

An attractive woman whose photo is on a magazine's front cover

air cover
  • Jargon
9 5.0

Military aircraft protect soldiers or ships from enemy attack during an operation

7 3.9

An extra fee each person pays to enter a restaurant or club, not for food and drink

A heavy round metal lid that covers an opening in a street or pavement

4 3.7

Plants that grow low and spread over soil to protect it in gardens

cover crop
  • Specialized
3 4.1

A crop grown to protect and improve soil

2 3.4

A new recording or performance of a song originally sung by another artist

2 5.9

A young man who appears on a magazine front cover as a fashion model

A new recording of a song that another artist made popular

A removable cloth or plastic layer that protects a mattress from dirt and spills

1 1.0

A large cloth that lies on top of a bed to protect it and make it look nice

An object placed over something to keep it safe from damage

cover plate
  • Specialized
1 4.8

A flat hard plate that closes an opening to protect the parts inside

1 3.1

A removable cover, often plastic or cloth, that protects machines like a printer from dust when not in use

1 3.0

A removable cap that protects a camera lens from dust and scratches

1 3.3

A book with thin, flexible paper on the outside rather than a hard cover

cover slip
  • Specialized
5.3

A small thin glass piece placed over a sample on a microscope slide to protect it and aid viewing

cover glass
  • Specialized
4.8

A thin flat piece of glass placed over a specimen on a microscope slide

cover glass
  • Specialized
3.4

A hard outer layer of glass that protects a device screen from scratches and drops

cover-slut
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who often makes new versions of other people's songs or who loves cover bands

A paper cover on a book that protects it and shows the title and author

A large cloth put over furniture to keep off dust

A material like carpet or wood placed on the floor to protect it and make it look nicer

A cardboard or paper sleeve that protects a vinyl record

A book with a flexible paper cover instead of a hard cover

Surface Forms

cover infinitive
covered past
covered past participle
covering present participle
covers third person singular

Etymology

Cover in card games comes from the idea of putting one card over another, so to cover a card is to beat it by playing a higher card on top.