covert
🇺🇸 /ˈkoʊvɜrt/
📖 Definitions
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adjective
Not openly acknowledged or displayed; hidden, secret, or concealed, especially in reference to actions or operations.; Sheltered or protected from view; covered over.
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noun
A thicket or dense growth of trees and underbrush providing shelter or concealment for game animals.; A place of shelter or concealment; a hiding place.; In ornithology, any of the feathers covering the bases of the primary and secondary flight feathers of a bird's wing.; A covering or cover; something that conceals or protects.
🔗 Details
Word forms
countable
Plural: coverts
Comparative: more covert
Superlative: most covert
Collocations
covert operationcovert actioncovert surveillancecovert agentunder covert
Derivatives
covertlycovertnesscoverture
Synonyms
secrethiddenclandestinesurreptitiousundercoverstealthy
Antonyms
overtopenpublictransparent
Commonly confused
overt
EN: 'Overt' means done openly and publicly, the direct antonym of 'covert' which means hidden or secret.
cover
EN: 'Cover' is a general term for something that conceals or protects; 'covert' as a noun specifically refers to a thicket sheltering game animals, and as an adjective means secretly done.
Spelling tips
EN: Do not confuse 'covert' with its antonym 'overt.' Note that the noun sense (a thicket for game) is pronounced /ˈkʌvɜːrt/ while the adjective is typically /ˈkoʊvɜːrt/.
💬 Examples
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The agency conducted a covert operation to infiltrate the enemy's communication network.
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They found a covert path through the dense undergrowth that led to the river.
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The fox darted into the covert at the edge of the field to escape the hounds.
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The rebels used the mountain cave as a covert during the winter months.
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The bird's greater coverts were a striking shade of blue that contrasted with its darker primaries.
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The thick canopy of leaves served as a covert from the relentless rain.