1
: not openly shown, engaged in, or avowed : veiled
a covert alliance
a covert military operation
covert racism
2
: covered over : sheltered
covert places in the woods
covertly adverb
covertness noun

covert

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: hiding place : shelter
b
: a thicket affording cover for game
c
: a masking or concealing device
2
: a feather covering the bases of the quills of the wings and tail of a bird see wing illustration
3
: a firm durable twilled sometimes waterproofed cloth usually of mixed-color yarns
Choose the Right Synonym for covert

secret, covert, stealthy, furtive, clandestine, surreptitious, underhanded mean done without attracting observation.

secret implies concealment on any grounds for any motive.

met at a secret location

covert stresses the fact of not being open or declared.

covert intelligence operations

stealthy suggests taking pains to avoid being seen or heard especially in some misdoing.

the stealthy step of a burglar

furtive implies a sly or cautious stealthiness.

lovers exchanging furtive glances

clandestine implies secrecy usually for an evil, illicit, or unauthorized purpose and often emphasizes the fear of being discovered.

a clandestine meeting of conspirators

surreptitious applies to action or behavior done secretly often with skillful avoidance of detection and in violation of custom, law, or authority.

the surreptitious stockpiling of weapons

underhanded stresses fraud or deception.

an underhanded trick

Examples of covert in a Sentence

Adjective He has taken part in a number of covert military operations. spy agencies taking covert action Noun set up a covert from which to watch wildlife without being detected the rabbit rushed to the safety of the nearest covert
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Meanwhile, the hostilities, both overt and covert, have been allowed to continue. The Enquirer, 9 Mar. 2024 The term applies to a seemingly covert way for companies to raise prices by ever so slightly reducing the size of their products. Josh Boak, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024 Hamas ruled Gaza and ran a covert military organization, the identity of its fighters unclear, even to other Gazans. Ben Hubbard, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024 Griffin then teed up Goldberg to continue with the discussion, and the show continued as usual. EW has reached out to a representative for The View to uncover the contents of the covert correspondence that Goldberg's intelligence operations failed to reveal during the show. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024 In fact, Cold War misdeeds gave rise to a complex of legal and administrative constraints—from prohibitions on political assassination to requirements to notify congressional committees about covert action—that mostly remain in place today. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Russian officials have maintained the country is not involved in a covert plan to launch nuclear weapons into space. Brian Bushard, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 The agency collects foreign intelligence and conducts covert action. Ron Lieber, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 This year, The Post found that both Facebook and X uncovered covert Indian military propaganda and calls for violence on their platforms, but executives hesitated to remove them. Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023
Noun
But keeping the commercial covert was especially challenging after his wife, Martel Thompson Hale — who is a makeup artist — worked with him on the ad. Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024 The president is the country’s top intelligence consumer and the only person who can authorize a covert This article is part of our premium archives. Jami Miscik, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2017 The show clocks in at under a half hour, focuses on Mando, Grogu, and Bo-Katan in their new home with the Armorer and her covert, and is largely a collection of action set pieces. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023 The main plot involves Ragnar, the kid whose helmet ceremony was interrupted in the season’s opening scene, being abducted by a dragon that has been bedeviling the covert for a while. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023 The return to Mando’s covert was even better, as Bo-Katan is also welcomed to walk The Way alongside them, much to her surprise (and conflicted feelings). Erik Kain, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2023 That’s just after Mando is cast out from his Mandalorian covert for the cardinal sin of removing his helmet in the presence of others. Adam B. Vary, Variety, 26 May 2022 Hunting coverts of primary and secondary growth isn’t always easy, and Faust’s advice is to be physically prepared for a day in the uplands. Tom Keer, Field & Stream, 2 June 2020 The bonus of finding a spring singing field is that you also will have pinpointed an autumn covert. Tom Fegely, Field & Stream, 13 Apr. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'covert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, past participle of coverir to cover

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of covert was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near covert

Cite this Entry

“Covert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covert. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

covert

1 of 2 adjective
co·​vert ˈkō-(ˌ)vərt How to pronounce covert (audio) kō-ˈvərt How to pronounce covert (audio)
ˈkəv-ərt
1
: not openly made or done
covert military operations
2
: covered over : sheltered
a covert nook
covertly adverb
covertness noun

covert

2 of 2 noun
1
: hiding place : shelter
2
: a thicket giving cover to game

More from Merriam-Webster on covert

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