cover
COVER meaning: a lid, a protective screen, a book or package exterior, or a bed's top sheet.
Noun 4 meanings
A lid.
Area or situation which screens a person or thing from view.
“The soldiers took cover behind a ruined building.”
The front and back of a book, magazine, CD package, etc.
The top sheet of a bed.
Adjective 2 meanings
Of or pertaining to the front cover of a book or magazine.
Of, pertaining to, or consisting of cover versions.
Verb 4 meanings
To place something over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
“He covered the baby with a blanket.”
To be over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
“The blanket covered the baby.”
To be upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
“Regular hexagons can cover the plane.”
To set upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
“You can cover the plane with regular hexagons.”
Etymology
From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operiō (“to close, cover”).
Similar and opposite words
COVER is a familiar five-letter word with several related noun senses: a lid, something that screens a person or thing, the outside of a book or package, and a bed's top sheet. Its everyday meaning makes it easy to recognize, but its V gives the word a 10-point Scrabble total. COVER also appears as a Wordle answer and accepted guess.
COVER at a glance
- Dictionary coverage: COVER appears in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE.
- Scrabble value: 10 points, with V worth 4 and C worth 3.
- Wordle status: accepted as both an answer and a guess.
- Anagrams: none share all five letters.
- One-letter neighbours: 18, including LOVER, ROVER, HOVER and MOVER.
- Rhymes: 12 words share its -over sound, including OVER, NEVER and RIVER.
What is the COVER meaning in everyday use?
COVER usually names something placed over or around an object. A lid is the shortest definition; the word also names a screen that hides a person or thing from view. That sense links a physical barrier with concealment, rather than requiring a separate kind of object.
On a book, magazine or CD package, the cover is its front or back exterior. On a bed, it can mean the top sheet. Those meanings are not interchangeable in every sentence: a book cover is part of the publication, while a bed cover describes what lies over the sleeper.
COVER meaning, score and game use
V does most of the scoring work: its 4 points plus C's 3 and three 1-point letters add to 10 before premium squares. COVER is not a high-value play by itself, so favor a bonus square over an ordinary spot when the board offers one.
Wordle gives COVER a second use: it is present as an answer and accepted as a guess. Its pattern is C-O-V-E-R; if your solve leaves V fixed in the middle, COVER is a candidate, though the other letter feedback still has to fit.
Anagram hunters get no rearrangement from these letters, but changing one tile opens nearby options: LOVER, ROVER, HOVER and MOVER each differ by one letter. The full set has 18 neighbours; OVER, NEVER and RIVER belong to its 12 rhymes, not its anagrams.
Rhymes with cover
All rhymesOne letter away
- LOVER8
- ROVER8
- DOVER9
- HOVER11
- MOVER10
- COVEN10
- COMER9
- COVET10
- CODER8
- COVEY13
- COWER10
- COVES10
- CAVER10
- COVED11
- CORER7
- COPER9
- COYER10
- COOER7
Questions people ask
What does COVER mean?
How many points is COVER worth in Scrabble?
Is COVER a Wordle answer?
Keep going
Related lists
Looking for a different word?
Type the letters you have and the Finder shows every word that fits.