UNCOVER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does uncover mean? 

• UNCOVER (verb)
  The verb UNCOVER has 3 senses:

1. remove all or part of one's clothes to show one's body

2. reveal to view as by removing a cover

3. make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

  Familiarity information: UNCOVER used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNCOVER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they uncover    ... he / she / it uncovers   
Past simple: uncovered   
Past participle: uncovered   
-ing form: uncovering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Remove all or part of one's clothes to show one's body

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

expose; uncover

Context example:

The man exposed himself in the subway

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "uncover"):

undo; unwrap (remove the outer cover or wrapping of)

undrape (strip something of drapery)

unclothe (take the covers off)

bare (lay bare)

unmask (take the mask off)

unveil (remove the veil from)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Reveal to view as by removing a cover

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

disclose; expose; uncover

Context example:

The curtain rose to disclose a stunning set

Hypernyms (to "uncover" is one way to...):

bring out; reveal; unveil (make visible)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "uncover"):

face (turn so as to expose the face)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

break; bring out; disclose; discover; divulge; expose; give away; let on; let out; reveal; uncover; unwrap

Context example:

The newspaper uncovered the President's illegal dealings

Hypernyms (to "uncover" is one way to...):

tell (let something be known)

Cause:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Verb group:

break; get around; get out (be released or become known; of news)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "uncover"):

muckrake (explore and expose misconduct and scandals concerning public figures)

reveal (disclose directly or through prophets)

babble; babble out; blab; blab out; let the cat out of the bag; peach; sing; spill the beans; talk; tattle (divulge confidential information or secrets)

leak (tell anonymously)

confide (reveal in private; tell confidentially)

betray; bewray (reveal unintentionally)

spring (produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly)

come out; come out of the closet; out (to state openly and publicly one's homosexuality)

out (reveal (something) about somebody's identity or lifestyle)

blow (cause to be revealed and jeopardized)

blackwash (bring (information) out of concealment)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

 Context examples 

Researchers were surprised when they uncovered a galaxy that is missing most, if not all, of its dark matter.

(Dark Matter Goes Missing in Oddball Galaxy, NASA)

Scientists had previously uncovered fossils of U. mongoliensis, but those were in poor condition, making them difficult to study.

(Paleontologists find fossil relative of Ginkgo biloba, NSF)

These studies may uncover clues to help prevent, diagnose, and treat disease.

(Genome-wide association study, NCI Dictionary)

A moment since we were firing, under cover, at an exposed enemy; now it was we who lay uncovered and could not return a blow.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

They also uncovered clues suggesting that these cells may play a role in learning and memory.

(The brain may actively forget during dream sleep, National Institutes of Health)

To further uncover genes that might be associated with the disorder, a large international team analyzed more than 14,000 DNA samples.

(Gene Disruptions Associated with Autism Risk, NIH)

I was awoke by somebody saying “Here he is!” and uncovering my hot head.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

He lifted the hangings from the wall, uncovering the second door: this, too, he opened.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It was Neville St. Clair’s coat, and not Neville St. Clair, which lay uncovered as the tide receded.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For example, research in this arena will uncover new mechanisms of carcinogenesis and cardiovascular disease and will lead to better understanding of osteoarthritis, birth defects and growth disorders.

(New Approaches to Pathogenesis, NCI Thesaurus)