cover-up
B2Formal, journalistic, legal, and everyday discourse about scandal or deception.
Definition
Meaning
An attempt to prevent people from discovering the truth about a serious mistake or crime.
The act of concealing evidence or facts, often through coordinated deception; can also refer to clothing worn for modesty or protection.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily a noun (countable). Carries strong negative connotations of deliberate, often organized, deception. The hyphen is standard in both BrE and AmE for the noun form.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is virtually identical in meaning and frequency. Minor differences may exist in typical collocating verbs (e.g., 'stage a cover-up' vs. 'engineer a cover-up').
Connotations
Equally negative in both dialects, associated with political, corporate, or institutional scandal.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in political journalism in both regions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Verb] a cover-up (stage, orchestrate, investigate)A cover-up [Verb] something (a cover-up conceals, involves)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A cover-up job”
- “To be part of the cover-up”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to concealing financial malfeasance, safety violations, or data breaches.
Academic
Used in political science, sociology, and history to analyze scandals.
Everyday
Used when discussing news about scandals in organizations or public figures.
Technical
Less common; could be used in forensic or audit contexts.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The officials sought to cover up the extent of the pollution.
- She wore a scarf to cover up her new haircut.
American English
- The company tried to cover up the data breach for months.
- He used makeup to cover up the bruise.
adjective
British English
- The cover-up operation was sophisticated and wide-ranging.
- They used cover-up tape for the decor.
American English
- The cover-up story was quickly disproven by journalists.
- She bought a cover-up stick for blemishes.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The newspaper wrote about a cover-up.
- It was not a mistake; it was a cover-up.
- After the accident, there was an attempt to organize a cover-up.
- The police investigation revealed a major cover-up within the department.
- The parliamentary inquiry focused on whether the minister was involved in the cover-up.
- Allegations of a corporate cover-up caused the company's shares to plummet.
- The meticulously planned cover-up began to unravel when a whistleblower leaked internal emails.
- Historian's analysis showed the cover-up was integral to maintaining the regime's power.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a politician literally trying to pull a COVER over a scandal to COVER it UP.
Conceptual Metaphor
TRUTH IS LIGHT / DECEPTION IS DARKNESS (a cover-up 'shrouds' the truth in darkness).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'cover' (крышка) or 'covering' (покрытие). The compound noun 'cover-up' translates specifically as 'сокрытие' (facts), 'заговор' (conspiracy), or 'маскировка' (disguise of truth).
Common Mistakes
- Using 'coverup' (one word) instead of 'cover-up' (hyphenated).
- Using it as a verb ('They tried to cover-up the crime') – the verb is the phrasal verb 'to cover up' (no hyphen).
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following best describes a 'cover-up'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The noun form is hyphenated: 'cover-up'. The verb form is two words: 'to cover up'.
Rarely. Its primary meaning is negative (concealing wrongdoing). In fashion/beauty, it can be neutral (a cover-up garment).
A 'lie' is a single false statement. A 'cover-up' is a sustained, often complex, process involving multiple actions to hide a truth.
Yes, particularly in stories about politics, corporate scandal, crime, and major accidents.
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