<B>covert, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>kept from sight; secret; hidden; disguised. <BR> <I>Ex. The children cast covert glances at the box of candy they were told not to touch.</I> (SYN) concealed. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Law.) married and under the authority or protection of her husband. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Rare.) covered; sheltered. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1a. </B>a hiding place; shelter. <DD><B> b. </B>a thicket in which wild animals or birds hide. <DD><B> 2. </B>a covering. <DD><B> 3. </B><B>=covert cloth.</B> <BR><I>expr. <B>coverts,</B> </I>the smaller and weaker feathers of a bird that cover the bases of the larger feathers of the wing and tail; tectrices. <BR> <I>Ex. The coverts of the wings are of a deep blackish green (Goldsmith).</I> adv. <B>covertly.</B> noun <B>covertness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="covertaction">
<B>covert action</B> or <B>operation,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a secret undertaking, especially to gather information, conducted by a police force or intelligence branch of government. <BR> <I>Ex. Veteran agency operatives often say that without covert action the C.I.A. would be nothing but a collection of sophisticated professors with mounds of intelligence (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<B>covert cloth,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a cloth of wool, silk and wool, cotton, or rayon, used for coats, suits, and other clothing. </DL>
<A NAME="covertcoat">
<B>covert coat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a short, light overcoat of covert cloth, worn for sports. </DL>
<A NAME="coverts">
<B>coverts, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>covert.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="coverture">
<B>coverture, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a cover; covering. <DD><B> 2. </B>a hiding place; shelter; refuge. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Law.) the status of a woman during her married life, when she is legally under the authority or protection of her husband. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) a concealing covering; disguise. </DL>
<A NAME="coverup">
<B>cover-up, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>something that conceals or disguises, especially that conceals or disguises a defect or crime. <BR> <I>Ex. The SEC's use of the term [self-regulation] is nothing more than a cover-up for greater and greater Government control of our nation's capital markets (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a garment that covers up another garment. <BR> <I>Ex. A bikini cover-up, an evening dress with a matching sleeveless cover-up.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="covet">
<B>covet, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to desire eagerly (something that belongs to another). <BR> <I>Ex. The other boys coveted his new bat.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to wish for, especially eagerly; long for. adj. <B>covetable.</B> noun <B>coveter.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="covetous">
<B>covetous, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>desiring things that belong to others. <BR> <I>Ex. Russia long has cast covetous eyes southward toward the Persian Gulf (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>eagerly desirous, especially of money. <BR> <I>Ex. Covetous beyond all sense of humanity, he foreclosed mortgages right and left.</I> (SYN) greedy, avaricious, grasping, rapacious. adv. <B>covetously.</B> noun <B>covetousness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="covey">
<B>covey, </B>noun, pl. <B>-eys.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small flock of partridges, quail, or similar birds. <BR> <I>Ex. He walked up to a covey of grouse, and getting off but one shot, picked up no less than five ... birds (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a small group; company. <BR> <I>Ex. the father of a covey of girls (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="covin">
<B>covin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) a collusion between two or more persons harmful to a third. </DL>
<A NAME="coving">
<B>coving, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an arched or coved part of a building projecting beyond the parts below. <DD><B> 2. </B>a cove or series of coves. <DD><B> 3. </B>coved work. <BR><I>expr. <B>covings,</B> </I>the curved sides of a fireplace that narrow toward the back. <BR> <I>Ex. The covings ... of a fireplace are now commonly placed in an oblique position (John Holland).</I> </DL>
<B>cow</B> (1), noun, pl. <B>cows</B> or (Archaic or Dialect) <B>kine.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the full-grown female of domestic cattle, especially the common dairy animal that furnishes milk. <DD><B> 2. </B>the female of the buffalo, moose, and other large mammals, the male of which is called a bull. <BR> <I>Ex. A bull elephant followed by two young cows emerged from the trees.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Australian Slang.) a disagreeable person or thing. <BR><I>expr. <B>till</B> (or <B>until</B>) <B>the cows come home,</B> </I>for a very long time; on and on. <BR> <I>Ex. You could be standing next to somebody suffering from typhoid until the cows come home and you would not get it so long as your food was not affected (London Times).</I> adj. <B>cowlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cow">
<B>cow</B> (2), transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> to make afraid; frighten. <BR> <I>Ex. The bully cowed many of the younger children with his threats.</I> (SYN) intimidate, scare. </DL>
<A NAME="cow">
<B>cow</B> (3), transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) to poll (the head); cut short; top; prune. Also, <B>cowe.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cowabunga">
<B>cowabunga, </B>interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD> a surfer's cry as he rides the crest of a wave. </DL>
<A NAME="cowage">
<B>cowage, </B>noun. =cowhage.</DL>
<A NAME="cowalker">
<B>co-walker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an apparitional double of a living person. </DL>
<A NAME="cowan">
<B>cowan, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Scottish.) a person who builds stone walls without mortar (used contemptuously of one who works as a mason without having served the regular apprenticeship). <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who is not a Freemason. </DL>
<A NAME="coward">
<B>coward, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a person who lacks courage or is easily made afraid; one who runs from danger, trouble, or other difficulties. <BR> <I>Ex. Cowards die many times before their deaths (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> lacking courage; cowardly. </DL>
<A NAME="cowardice">
<B>cowardice, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> lack of courage; being easily made afraid. <BR> <I>Ex. The deserter was guilty of cowardice.</I> (SYN) faintheartedness, pusillanimity. </DL>
<A NAME="cowardly">
<B>cowardly, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>without courage. <BR> <I>Ex. I was too cowardly to do what was right (Dickens).</I> (SYN) timorous, craven, pusillanimous, fainthearted. <DD><B> 2. </B>of a coward; like a coward. <BR> <I>Ex. He made his threats at a cowardly distance.</I> <DD><I>adv. </I> in a cowardly manner. noun <B>cowardliness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="cowbane">
<B>cowbane, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various plants of the parsley family, reputedly poisonous to cattle, such as the spotted cowbane, a North American plant with poisonous roots. </DL>
<A NAME="cowbell">
<B>cowbell, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a bell hung around a cow's neck to indicate her whereabouts. <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) the bladder campion. </DL>
<A NAME="cowberry">
<B>cowberry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the berry or fruit of any one of several plants growing in pastures, such as the red huckleberry. <DD><B> 2. </B>any of these plants. <DD><B> 3. </B>a marsh plant of the rose family. <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S.) the partridgeberry (plant). </DL>
<A NAME="cowbind">
<B>cowbind, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> either of two species of bryony. </DL>
<A NAME="cowbird">
<B>cowbird, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a small North American blackbird, often found with cattle. Most cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. </DL>
<A NAME="cowblackbird">
<B>cow blackbird,</B> =cowbird.</DL>
<A NAME="cowboy">
<B>cowboy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a man whose work is looking after cattle on a ranch; cowhand. He rides horseback to do most of his work. <DD><B> 2. </B>a man who rides horses in a rodeo. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Slang.) a wild or irresponsible young man, especially a reckless driver. <BR> <I>Ex. The number of "cowboys" on the road is probably small ... but their behaviour is getting them all a bad name (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Historical.) a Tory partisan in the American Revolution in the vicinity of New York, especially a member of various lawless bands that made raids on the farms of the region. </DL>
<A NAME="cowboyboot">
<B>cowboy boot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a high-heeled riding boot, often with fancy trimming on top, worn by cowboys and ranchers. </DL>
<A NAME="cowboyhat">
<B>cowboy hat,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a broad-brimmed hat worn by cowboys and ranchers; ten-gallon hat. </DL>
<A NAME="cowboysandindians">
<B>cowboys and Indians,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a children's game in which players enact a battle between Indians and cowboys. It is played sometimes in the form of tag, in which those that are "it" are the cowboys chasing the Indians to tag them. </DL>
<A NAME="cowbunting">
<B>cow bunting,</B> =cowbird.</DL>
<A NAME="cowcatcher">
<B>cowcatcher, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a metal frame on the front of a locomotive, streetcar, or the like, to clear the tracks of anything in the way. </DL>
<B>cower, </B>intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to crouch or draw back in fear or shame. <BR> <I>Ex. The dog cowered under the table after being whipped by its master.</I> (SYN) cringe, quail. <DD><B> 2. </B>to draw back tremblingly from another's threats or blows. (SYN) cringe, quail. adv. <B>coweringly.</B> </DL>
<B>cowfish, </B>noun, pl. <B>-fishes</B> or (collectively) <B>-fish.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a fish with hornlike projections above its eyes. <DD><B> 2. </B>any one of certain small animals related to the whales, such as the dolphin or porpoise. <DD><B> 3. </B>a sea cow such as a dugong or manatee. </DL>
<A NAME="cowgirl">
<B>cowgirl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a woman or girl who works on a ranch, at rodeos, etc. </DL>
