covert operation
23
5.7
- noun
- /ˈkoʊvɜrt ˌɑpəˈreɪʃən/
:
operación encubierta
- The CIA planned a covert operation to gather intelligence on enemy movements without being detected.
- military covert operations
It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.
- It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.
- And that becomes a problem when there's this collusion between these covert operations and corporate.
- But that that, that that was a project that revitalized the agency and revitalized covert operations.
- And we, when you find when, when you're dealing in the world of covert operations and when you finally find the, the, the right people who know what you're asking about.
- He's a former CIA covert operations officer and he's also the host of the newly relaunched Presidents Daily Brief podcast.
Examples
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Like Reagan, Kennedy was enamored of covert operations, nowhere more than in the attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro and topple his regime.
Academic text (1996) -
Was the compound involved in covert operations?
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This is a big covert operation.
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You know absolutely nothing about the current covert operations of the US government.
Blog text (25) -
I am dressed for a covert operation.
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He is an expert in covert operations.
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Sharon was posted in Iraq as part of our covert operations during the Gulf War.
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What Special Ops does here is done under CIA covert operations.
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The history of the drug trade in Central Asia is intimately related to the CIA's covert operations.
Academic text (2001) -
He's a former CIA covert operations officer and he's also the host of the newly relaunched Presidents Daily Brief podcast.
Synonyms
108
7.3
Secret spying to get information for a government or company
17
5.5
A private job done secretly to gather information
11
4.9
Secret work where someone gathers information for the police or security
10
5.0
Secret work by police or agents who hide their identity to gather evidence
8
4.9
A secret activity by a government to gather information about an enemy or threat
3
5.8
A secret operation by soldiers or spies to gather information and carry out dangerous tasks
3
7.7
A secret activity planned and done to stay hidden, often by spies or soldiers
1
3.9
Actions to collect and study information about threats for military or security services
1
8.4
A secret action that hides who did it, often for political or military reasons
How Secret
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a secret or undercover action' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'covert' (secret/hidden) with 'operation' (a planned activity, often military or police). This adjective + noun composition follows a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Covert operation comes from a simple image: covert means 'hidden' and operation means a planned action, so imagine a small team working at night behind closed doors and trying not to be seen. That's why the phrase means 'a secret or undercover action' by a government, military, or spy group.