Covert activities or situations are secret or hidden.
[formal]
They have been supplying covert military aid to the rebels.
The depth of covert racism in my own profession frightens me.
Synonyms: secret, private, hidden, disguised More Synonyms of covert
covertlyadverb [usually ADVERB with verb]
He was arrested after being filmed covertly by the authorities.
2. countable noun
A covert is a group of small trees or bushes very close to each other where small animals or game birds can hide.
Synonyms: thicket, bushes, brush [archaic], underwood More Synonyms of covert
covert in British English
(ˈkʌvət)
adjective
1.
concealed or secret
covert jealousy
2. law Compare feme covert, discovert
noun
3.
a shelter or disguise
4.
a thicket or woodland providing shelter for game
5. short for covert cloth
6. ornithology
any of the small feathers on the wings and tail of a bird that surround the bases of the larger feathers
7.
a flock of coots
Derived forms
covertly (ˈcovertly)
adverb
covertness (ˈcovertness)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French: covered, from covrir to cover
covert in American English
(ˈkoʊvərt; ˈkʌvərt)
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
noun
4.
a covered or protected place; shelter
5.
a hiding place for game, as underbrush or a thicket
6.
covert cloth
7. Zoology
any of the small feathers covering a particular area of a bird, as the bases of the larger feathers of a wing or tail
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈsecret
Derived forms
covertly (ˈcovertly)
adverb
covertness (ˈcovertness)
noun
Word origin
OFr, pp. of covrir, cover
Examples of 'covert' in a sentence
covert
Yesterday we handed our dossier and the covert video recordings to the police.
The Sun (2013)
See covert video of the scam online.
The Sun (2013)
It suggested that police chiefs should be stripped of their role in setting standards for covert policing.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Relatives who suspect abuse are increasingly using covert filming to monitor loved ones.
The Sun (2015)
The frequency is hard to quantify, given covert police operations and other surveillance work.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
But there was always the sense of a covert network of support, the possibility of refuge.
Rodney Bolt HISTORY PLAY: The Lives and After-life of Christopher Marlowe (2004)
I was on a covert filming assignment.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
A covert campaign to position him for the leadership has been under way for at least three months.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We are making our dossier, including covert video recordings, available to police.
The Sun (2014)
The students, sneaking covert glances at us, could see that this was indeed entirely true.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She was just 24, and without any training in covert activity.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We hand him a camera, set up covert video inside the digger's cab and pass him the fake bomb.
The Sun (2012)
The inquiry began when a whistleblower reported concerns about the crime squad's methods and culture and included a ten-month covert phase using video and listening devices.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
covert
British English: covert ADJECTIVE
Covert activities or situations are secret or hidden.
They have been supplying covert military aid to the rebels.
American English: covert
Brazilian Portuguese: velado
Chinese: 秘密的
European Spanish: secreto
French: secret
German: versteckt
Italian: nascosto
Japanese: 秘密の
Korean: 비밀의
European Portuguese: secreto
Latin American Spanish: secreto
All related terms of 'covert'
covert coat
a short topcoat worn for hunting
feme covert
a married woman
tail covert
any of the covert feathers of a bird covering the bases of the tail feathers
wing covert
any of the covert feathers of the wing of a bird, occurring in distinct rows
covert action
a secret action undertaken to influence the course of political events, as a government intelligence operation
covert cloth
a twill-weave cotton or worsted suiting fabric
covert operations
An operation is a highly organized activity that involves many people doing different things.
Chinese translation of 'covert'
covert
(ˈkəuvət)
adj
[operation, action, support]秘(祕)密的 (mìmì de)
(adjective)
Definition
concealed or secret
They have been supplying covert military aid to the rebels.
Synonyms
secret
I was heading on a secret mission that made my flesh crawl.
private
He held a private meeting with the country's political party leaders.
hidden
The den was hidden in the undergrowth.
disguised
a disguised tax on immigration
concealed
He was filmed with a concealed camera.
veiled
He made a veiled threat to withdraw his support if we continued.
sly
They were giving each other sly looks across the room.
clandestine
They are said to have been holding clandestine meetings for years.
underhand
The Prime Minister had been involved in underhand financial deals.
unsuspected
surreptitious
They had several surreptitious conversations.
stealthy
It was a stealthy sound made by someone anxious not to be heard.
(noun)
Definition
a thicket or woodland providing shelter for game
Synonyms
thicket
a bamboo thicket
bushes
brush (archaic)
a meadow of low brush and grass
underwood
undergrowth
plunging through the undergrowth
shrubbery
coppice
Additional synonyms
in the sense of brush
Definition
a thick growth of shrubs and small trees
a meadow of low brush and grass
Synonyms
shrubs,
bushes,
scrub,
underwood,
undergrowth,
thicket,
copse,
brushwood
in the sense of clandestine
Definition
secret and concealed
They are said to have been holding clandestine meetings for years.