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16 N‑PLURAL The covers on your bed are the things such as sheets and blankets that you have on top of you.

17 N‑COUNT The cover of a book or a magazine is the outside part of it. □  …a small spiral-bound booklet with a green cover. □  I used to read every issue from cover to cover.

18 N‑COUNT [usu sing] Something that is a cover for secret or illegal activities seems respectable or normal, and is intended to hide the activities. □ [+ for ] They set up a spurious temple that was a cover for sexual debauchery. □  As a cover story he generally tells people he is a freelance photographer.

19 VERB If you cover for someone who is doing something secret or illegal, you give false information or do not give all the information you have, in order to protect them. □ [V + for ] Why would she cover for someone who was trying to kill her?

20 VERB If you cover for someone who is ill or away, you do their work for them while they are not there. □ [V + for ] She did not have enough nurses to cover for those who went ill or took holiday.

21 VERB To cover a song originally performed by someone else means to record a new version of it. □ [V n] He must make a decent living from other artists covering his songs.

22 N‑COUNT A cover is the same as a cover version . □ [+ of ] The single is a cover of an old Rolling Stones song.

23 → see also covered , covering

24 PHRASE To blow someone's cover means to cause their true identity or the true nature of their work to be revealed. [INFORMAL ] □  The young man looked embarrassed, as if he were a spy whose cover had been blown.

25 PHRASE If you break cover , you leave a place where you have been hiding or sheltering from attack, usually in order to run to another place. □  They began running again, broke cover and dashed towards the road.

26 PHRASE If you take cover , you shelter from gunfire, bombs, or the weather. □  Shoppers took cover behind cars as police marksmen returned fire.

27 PHRASE If you are under cover , you are under something that protects you from gunfire, bombs, or the weather. □  'Get under cover!' shouted Billy, and we darted once more for the tables.

28 PHRASE If you do something under cover of a particular situation, you are able to do it without being noticed because of that situation. □  They move under cover of darkness.

29 PHRASE If you cover your back or cover your rear , you do something in order to protect yourself, for example against criticism or against accusations of doing something wrong. □  David has covered his back by having a clause inserted in the contract.

▸  cover up

1 PHRASAL VERB If you cover something or someone up , you put something over them in order to protect or hide them. □ [V n P ] He fell asleep in the front room so I covered him up with a duvet. [Also V P n]

2 PHRASAL VERB If you cover up something that you do not want people to know about, you hide the truth about it. □ [V P n] He suspects there's a conspiracy to cover up the crime. □ [V n P ] They knew they had done something terribly wrong and lied to cover it up. □ [V P + for ] How do we know you're not just covering up for your friend?

3 → see also cover-up SYNONYMS cover VERB 2

conceal:The hat concealed her hair.

screen:Most of the road behind the hotel was screened by a block of flats.

hide:The man's heavy moustache hid his upper lip completely.

mask:A thick grey cloud masked the sun.