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say it: KUHV-ur
cover is a verb and noun meaning "provide with a covering or cause to be covered". It carries 36 recorded senses.
span an interval of distance, space or time
“The war extended over five years”
“The period covered the turn of the century”
“My land extends over the hills on the horizon”
“This farm covers some 200 acres”
“The Archipelago continues for another 500 miles”
include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
“This group encompasses a wide range of people from different backgrounds”
“this should cover everyone in the group”
travel across or pass over
“The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day”
hold within range of an aimed firearm
to take an action to protect against future problems
“Count the cash in the drawer twice just to cover yourself”
protect by insurance
“The insurance won't cover this”
make up for shortcomings or a feeling of inferiority by exaggerating good qualities
“he is compensating for being a bad father”
help out by taking someone's place and temporarily assuming his responsibilities
“She is covering for our secretary who is ill this week”
be sufficient to meet, defray, or offset the charge or cost of
“Is this enough to cover the check?”
be responsible for guarding an opponent in a game
a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something
“a screen of trees afforded privacy”
“under cover of darkness”
“the brush provided a covert for game”
“the simplest concealment is to match perfectly the color of the background”
bedding that keeps a person warm in bed
“he pulled the covers over his head and went to sleep”
the act of concealing the existence of something by obstructing the view of it
“the cover concealed their guns from enemy aircraft”
the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book
“the book had a leather binding”
a natural object that covers or envelops
“under a covering of dust”
“the fox was flushed from its cover”
fire that makes it difficult for the enemy to fire on your own individuals or formations
“artillery provided covering fire for the withdrawal”
a fixed charge by a restaurant or nightclub over and above the charge for food and drink
a recording of a song that was first recorded or made popular by somebody else
“they made a cover of a Beatles' song”
a false identity and background (especially one created for an undercover agent)
“her new name and passport are cover for her next assignment”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for cover come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.