# cover someone's ass

idiom · Vulgar

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/cover-someones-ass
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To make preparations or take precautions to ensure that a person is not blamed or punished for his or her conduct.

## Examples

- I lied to the boss to cover my friend's ass.
- When the project failed, he tried to cover his manager's ass by blaming the software instead of the team.
- Despite the mounting evidence of negligence, the senior partners scrambled to cover their colleague's ass before the internal audit began.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.