“Cover Off” – Meaning Explained (Helpful Examples)

The English language is constantly evolving. Because of this, every so often, we have new phrases enter the lexicon. One of the ones that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment is ‘cover off’. On this page, we will give you a rough idea of what it means.

What Does ‘Cover Off’ Mean?

There is a bit of a debate about what ‘cover off’ could potentially mean. Some argue that ‘cover off’ is seen as a synonym for ‘uncover’, while others see it as a synonym for ‘cover’. The prevalent usage is in the IT world and it means something was dealt with.

The problem with emerging phrases is that, for a while, there seems to be a bit of inconsistency when it comes to what the words actually mean. It is believed that the phrase ‘cover off’ began in the world of IT, and then it quickly spread into the world of management.

As we said, a lot of people take ‘cover off’ to mean that something has been dealt with. So, if an IT professional had dealt with a bug in a piece of software, they could say “I covered off the bug”. In other cases, it may mean that something needs to be discussed e.g. in a meeting, somebody may “I need to cover off on the profit & loss accounts”.

Examples Of How To Use ‘Cover Off’ In a Sentence

Because there is some inconsistency in the way in which ‘cover off’ is defined, it can be tricky to use in a sentence. In fact, at the time of writing, the phrase has only been around for a couple of years. So, if you are reading this, you are pretty much in a situation where the language is still going through a period of evolution.

Here are some examples of how to use ‘cover off’ in a sentence. These examples have been modified from a variety of sources, just to show you how different the meanings can be:

1. I need to cover off the details of the work outing at the next meeting.
2. You need to make sure that the issue is covered off, just in case management asks you any questions.
3. It is important that the team covers off the bug in the software.
4. The team at Apple has managed to cover off most of the software bugs in the latest version of iOS.
5. I need you to cover off the profit & loss report by 3 pm.

Cover Off vs Cover Up

Because the definition of ‘cover off’ tends to be quite fluid, it is hard to compare it to the phrase ‘cover up’. If most cases, the phrase ‘cover off’ means something is dealt with, while ‘cover up’ normally means that something is going to remain hidden.

Here are a few examples of both ‘cover off’ and ‘cover up’ can be used in a sentence. As you can see, they do mean drastically different things. However, do bear in mind that because the phrase ‘cover off’ is still evolving, this is something that could change over time:

• The management needed to cover off various topics during the marketing meeting.
• The employee attempted to cover up the mistake that she had made.
• It is important that the bug reporting team cover off any bugs before they released the software.
• The bug reporting team tried to cover up bugs before the launch of the software. It didn’t go well.

‘Cover Off’ Synonyms

It is tricky to give synonyms to cover off, because of the fluid definition for it. However, it is absolutely vital that you do know how to use synonyms for ‘cover off’. After all, the bulk of people that you encounter are probably not going to have any idea what the word actually means.

You should try to consider the situation, because not all of these will be direct substitutes for the phrase ‘cover off’.

• Deal with
• Talk about (when discussing something in a meeting)
• Work on
• Prioritize
• Check off.

Final Thoughts

In most cases, the phrase ‘cover off’ means that something has been dealt with. It is a phrase often used in the world of IT, but it is now seen as bizspeak. It should be avoided wherever possible, mostly because the definition is not consistent.