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Glite Dictionary
to cover up

to cover up

314 3.7
To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkʌvər ʌp/
translation icon : ocultar
  • She decided to cover up the mistake in her report before submitting it to her boss.
  • attempt to cover up
  • try to cover up
  • cover up the evidence

We cannot let the government cover up child trafficking.

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Examples

  • And that will go directly over the hole to cover it up like so.

  • Take the case of someone who is lying to cover up a crime.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Let's use the chicken to cover up the parts that are ugly.

  • So I'm just going to cover up my hair quickly.

    STEPHANIE TOMS

  • You don't have to cover up your scars.

  • The government tried to cover up the scandal by hiding the evidence from the media.

  • He wore a jacket to cover up his tattoo during the job interview.

Synonyms

to hide
vsto cover up
∞ 1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

is broader and also applies to hiding facts or records
to cover
vsto cover up
∞ 1.0

To put something over another thing to protect or hide it

is focused on secrecy or keeping facts from being discovered
to conceal
vsto cover up
282 3.7

To hide something so others cannot see or find it

is a general term for hiding both objects and information
to bury
vsto cover up
254 1.6

To cover something completely so it cannot be seen

is used more generally for concealment not only burial
to obscure
vsto cover up
86 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

is about keeping things secret rather than merely making them unclear
to veil
vsto cover up
24 5.0

To cover something so others cannot easily see or understand it

is used when something is completely kept from sight or knowledge
to obfuscate
vsto cover up
  • Formal
17 9.1

To make facts or information unclear on purpose

is broader, applying to physical and informational secrecy alike
to blot out
vsto cover up
8 5.4

Hide something so you cannot see it or remember it

refers more generally to preventing discovery rather than erasure
to hush up
vsto cover up
  • Informal
2 7.2

Stop people finding out about a mistake, crime, or embarrassing event

is neutral and covers hiding for any reason, not only scandals
to enshroud
vsto cover up
  • Literature
1 8.2

To cover something completely so you cannot see or understand it

is the common term without the dramatic or poetic sense
to secrete
vsto cover up
1 8.1

Hide something carefully where others cannot find it

covers any act of making something undiscoverable beyond safekeeping

Antonyms

to reveal
∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

to expose
146 2.8

Make something visible by removing a cover or letting light reach it

How Hidden

to cover up
314 3.7
to suppress
176 4.8
to conceal
282 3.7
to cover
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

cover + up

The meaning 'to hide or conceal' is directly derivable from combining 'cover' (to place or spread over) with the particle 'up' which adds a sense of completion or sealing; together they naturally convey fully covering something so it cannot be seen or discovered. This verb+particle composition is a common, predictable pattern in English (and in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will typically infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb cover up comes from the simple picture of putting a cloth or blanket over something to hide it: you cover the thing and pull it up so it cannot be seen. So, it now means 'to hide' objects or information from other people.