Word.ws English Dictionary

break cover

break cover verb: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, cover.

Verb

break cover (third-person singular simple present breaks cover, present participle breaking cover, simple past broke cover, past participle broken cover)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, cover.
  2. (broadly, idiomatic) To disclose one's real thoughts and intentions.
    • Government MPs sympathetic to the opposition's arguments are starting to break cover.

Synonyms of break cover

Forms of break cover

third-person singular presentbreaks cover
present participlebreaking cover
pastbroke cover
past participlebroken cover

Questions about break cover

What does break cover mean?
Break cover means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see break, cover.
What part of speech is break cover?
Break cover is a verb.
What is the past tense of break cover?
The past tense of break cover is broke cover.

Words near break cover in the dictionary

  1. break camp
  2. break character
  3. break clause
  4. break clauses
  5. break containment
  6. break cover
  7. break dance
  8. break danced
  9. break dancer
  10. break dancers
  11. break dances

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: break cover (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-break cover.ogg.

Cite this entry: “break cover.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/break_cover. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.