covering
part of speech
noun (a covering, coverings); verb form (covering — the -ing form of cover)
meaning for a pupil
1) A covering is a layer of something that lies on or over something else. tree →
2) A covering is something you use to cover or protect something, such as a sheet, lid or curtain. tree →
3) Covering (verb) means putting something over, hiding, protecting, dealing with a topic, or doing someone else's job for a while. tree →
sense in the lessons
In weather and nature: «a light covering of snow», «a covering of fur». At home: floor coverings (carpets, rugs), wall coverings. In school: «covering a topic» means teaching it; a «cover teacher» is covering for someone who is away. Phrases: «a thin covering», «covering for someone» (also: hiding someone's mistake), «covering up».
examples
- There was a light covering of snow on the playground. tree →
- Animals in the Arctic have a thick covering of fur. tree →
- Put a covering over the paint pots so they don't dry out. tree →
- Mr Lee is covering our class while Mrs Day is ill. tree →
- We are covering fractions this week. tree →
- The skin is the body's covering. tree →
- Never keep covering for a friend who is in danger — tell an adult. tree →
- Covering their heads with their blankets, they sat trembling with fear. tree →
note
Countable as a noun: coverings. «Covering for» someone can be kind (doing their job) or dishonest (hiding what they did) — the sentence tells you which. «Cover-up» is hiding the truth.
In the corpora
- Birds need about ten to twelve hours of sleep, so covering part of the cage at night helps.
- Loyalty to a friend does not mean lying for them; covering up can let harm go on and drags you into the trouble.
- Cleaning a cut stops infection, and covering it keeps dirt out.
- Mosquitoes come out in the evening; covering your arms and legs and using repellent keeps them off.
- Loyalty does not mean lying for a friend; covering up can let harm continue and drags you into the trouble too.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «covering» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.