cover up
[verb]
Synonyms: conceal, draw a veil over, hide, hush up, suppress, sweep under the carpet, whitewash (informal)
[noun]
Synonyms: concealment, complicity, conspiracy, front, smoke screen, whitewash (informal)

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English Thesaurus: hide, conceal, cover up, disguise, camouflage, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

cover up phrasal verb (see also cover)

1. cover something ↔ up to put something over something else so that it cannot be seen:
Her legs were so swollen she had to cover them up.

2. cover something ↔ up to prevent people from discovering mistakes or unpleasant facts ⇒ whitewash:
The affair was covered up and never reached the papers.
Mum’s worried, but she covers it up by joking. ⇒ cover-up

3. cover up for somebody to protect someone by hiding unpleasant facts about them:
They covered up for Kirk by refusing to answer any questions.

4. to put clothes, blankets etc over yourself in order to protect or hide your body, or to keep yourself warm:
Cover up, or stay out of the sun.
cover yourself up
Hastily, she covered herself up with the towel.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ˈcover-up noun [countable]
an attempt to prevent the public from discovering the truth about something ⇒ whitewash:
He accused the government of a cover-up.
⇒ cover up(2)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

cover up
noun
ADJ. big, major | government VERB + COVER-UP be engaged in, be implicated in, be involved in Military leaders were involved in a major cover-up.
accuse sb of
PREP. ~ by cover-ups by the police
~ over evidence of a cover-up over arms sales
PHRASES allegations/claims of a cover-up

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

hide to make something difficult to see or find, or to not show your true feelings:
He hid the gun in his pocket.
She tried to hide her anger.
The actress put up a hand to hide her face from the cameras.
conceal formal to hide something, especially by carefully putting it somewhere. Also used when talking about hiding your feelings, especially in negative sentences:
Several kilos of drugs were concealed in the back of the truck.
He could not conceal his feelings any longer.
The girl quickly concealed the photograph she had been gazing at.
cover up to put something over another thing that you do not want people to see, in order to hide it completely:
People cover up cracks with wallpaper or tiles.
I used some make-up to cover up the spots.
She was wearing a thin shawl to cover up the bruises on her arm.
disguise to make someone or something seem like a different person or thing, so that other people cannot recognize them:
She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier.
The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat.
camouflage to hide something by covering it with materials that make it look like the things around it:
We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves.
The troops used charcoal to camouflage their faces.
Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.
obscure literary to make it difficult to see something clearly:
The view was obscured by mist.
His body was found, partially obscured by bushes, at the bottom of a shallow canyon.
mask to make something less noticeable, for example a taste, a smell, a sound, or a feeling:
The lemon helps to mask the taste of the fish.
Helen had turned on the radio to mask the noise of the traffic.
He did little to mask his contempt.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

cover up
cover up (something)
to keep something secret or hidden.
Others accused her of covering up her financial dealings.

I was amazed that the building contractors we hired tried to cover up the problems they had.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cover up (= to put a cloth or other object over someone or something)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cover up something
cover up (something)
to keep something secret or hidden.
Others accused her of covering up her financial dealings.

I was amazed that the building contractors we hired tried to cover up the problems they had.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of cover up (= to put a cloth or other object over someone or something)

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cover up
to hide something wrong or bad
They tried to cover up the facts regarding the illegal election campaign funds.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cover up something
to hide something wrong or bad
They tried to cover up the facts regarding the illegal election campaign funds.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cover up
v., informal
1. To hide something wrong or bad from attention.
The spy covered up his picture-taking by pretending to be just a tourist.
A crooked banker tried to cover up his stealing some of the bank's money by starting a fire to destroy the records.
Compare: COVER ONE'S TRACKS².
2. In boxing: To guard your head and body with your gloves, arms, and shoulders.
Jimmy's father told him to cover up and protect his chin when he boxed.
3. To protect someone else from blame or punishment; protect someone with a lie or alibi.
■ Often used with "for".
The teacher wanted to know who broke the window and told the boys not to try to cover up for anyone.
The burglar's friend covered up for him by saying that he was at his home when the robbery occurred.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

cover up
n., slang A plan or excuse to escape blame or punishment; lie, alibi.
When the men robbed the bank, their cover-up was to dress like policemen.
Joe's cover-up to his mother after he had been fighting was that he fell down.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲