covert Hear it!

covert Definition

co·vert (kō′vərt, kuv′ərt)

adjective

  1. concealed, hidden, disguised, or surreptitious a covert threat
  2. Archaic sheltered; protected
  3. Law protected by a husband: said of a married woman

Etymology: OFr, pp. of covrir, cover

noun

  1. a covered or protected place; shelter
  2. a hiding place for game, as underbrush or a thicket
  3. covert cloth
  4. Zool. any of the small feathers covering a particular area of a bird, as the bases of the larger feathers of a wing or tail

covert Related Forms
cov′·ertly adverb cov′·ert·ness noun
covert Synonyms

covert

modif.

secret, clandestine, furtive; see secret 1, 2. See syn. study at secret.

covert Synonyms

covert

n.

  1. A thicket

    copse, underwood, bushes; see brush 4, bush 1.

  2. A shelter or hiding place

    shield, asylum, harbor; see refuge 1, retreat 2, sanctuary 2, shelter.

covert Usage Examples

Object

  • title: Skiers and boarders alike can compete for the coverted title of Ride Inn, Ride Off Champion 2006.

Converse of object

  • show: As it flew away from me it showed white undertail coverts and belly.

Adjective modifier

  • lesser: Also note the green gloss to the wing and brown lesser coverts indicative of a first winter bird.
  • white: The Hawaiian Coot is a dark gray bird which from a distance looks black and has white undertail coverts.
  • great: The greater coverts appear to have largely dark centers with only a narrow pale edge.
  • primary: The white tips to the greater primary coverts are slightly more prominent.

Modifies a noun

  • surveillance: The standard pretext for disguise is the loss of power, forcing the ruler to use covert surveillance to regain his title.
  • ops: The game starts out with your character Alex who is in a training program for covert ops.
  • operative: The intentional disclosure of a covert operative 's identity is a violation of federal law.
  • operation: The film opens with a covert operation gone wrong in a Chinese prison in 1991.
  • channel: Note: Covert channels may be storage or timing channels.
  • racism: Is faith commitment the real motivation for many, or is it covert racism?

Modifying Another Word

  • often: These patterns are the often covert forces behind the phenomena described.
  • not: What parents want is community schools, with open access and not covert selection.

Noun used with modifier

  • undertail: The Hawaiian Coot is a dark gray bird which from a distance looks black and has white undertail coverts.
  • tail: Juvenile Long-tailed shows barring on the rump and upper tail coverts which juvenile Arctic does not.
  • wing: The picture below shows one with few wing coverts.
  • ear: The black on the face extends to below the eye and covers the ear coverts and the lores.
  • underwing: In the sunlight you could make out the rufous body and underwing coverts.
  • fox: The landscape is one of rolling hills, pasture, small streams, woods and numerous fox coverts.
covert Quotes

And a manshall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

—Bible (Old Testament)