cover for

1. 1.

   provide an excuse or alibi for someone so as to cover up guilt

   “I won't lie and cover for you”

   Broaderprotect

Questions about cover for

What does cover for mean?

cover for means "provide an excuse or alibi for someone so as to cover up guilt".

Is cover for a common word?

cover for is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.