any action, stratagem, or other means of concealing or preventing investigation or exposure.
2.
Also, coverup. any of various women's garments, as loose blouses, jump suits, caftans, or sarongs, worn over a swimsuit, exercise clothing, or the like.
Origin
1925-30; noun use of verb phrase cover up
Examples from the web for cover-up
Pack clothing that does double-duty: a sarong can be a skirt and beach cover-up.
Hence the on going cover-up of their mortal remains.
It's easy for those used to the bombastic approach of foreign television to misread this as obfuscation or cover-up.
The report found no evidence of a cover-up, however.
His relationship with an under-age belly dancer, plus charges of a cover-up, may be the final straw.
Pa police accused of cover-up to have bail hearing.
In both cases, police appear to have decided on a cover-up even before the blood on the pavement was dry.
To many, it looks as if a tragedy is being compounded by a cover-up.
Thus, prosecutors allege a cover-up of a crime that may never have been committed.
He says he knows because he orchestrated the cover-up.
British Dictionary definitions for cover-up
cover-up
noun
1.
concealment or attempted concealment of a mistake, crime, etc
verb (adverb)
2.
(transitive) to cover completely
3.
when intr, often foll by for. to attempt to conceal (a mistake or crime): she tried to cover up for her friend
4.
(intransitive) (boxing) to defend the body and head with the arms
Word Origin and History for cover-up
n.
also coverup, "means or act of concealing" some event or activity, 1922, from verbal phrase, from cover (v.) + up (adv.).
Slang definitions & phrases for cover-up
cover-up
noun
Anything designed to conceal or obfuscate the truth by replacement: Sending the Navy south instead of north was an obvious cover-up(1935+)