1
: a loose outer garment
2
: something likened to an outer garment: such as
a
: something that envelops or conceals
a cloak of secrecy
b
: a distinctive character or role
hung up his academic cloak … to become a stay-at-home father—
Charles Chamberlain
Charles Chamberlain
cloaked; cloaking; cloaks
: to cover or hide with or as if with a cloak
Synonyms
Examples of cloak in a Sentence
Noun
Their plans were shrouded in a cloak of secrecy.
the cloak of mystery that surrounds the royal family
Verb
the outlaw nation had cloaked its chemical weapons plant as a fertilizer factory
cloaked their military maneuvers from the outside world
Recent Examples on the Web
Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
To get as close as possible, under the cloak of darkness, using night vision to ID their man.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2025
ProPublica, 13 Feb. 2025
The group’s howls of protest could be heard last year outside the Dujiangyan Panda Base, the temporary home of two pandas that were sent to the US in a carefully orchestrated process cloaked in secrecy to avoid unscripted attention.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025
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Noun
But the Roman statue distinctly depicts the Greek goddess, with her signature helmet and aegis, or sash-like cloak, draped across her chest.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
To get as close as possible, under the cloak of darkness, using night vision to ID their man.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
Last summer, an unsettling quiet cloaked the isolated Southwest Alaska community of King Cove as the town’s economic engine — a sprawling seafood processing plant — sat shuttered.
—ProPublica, 13 Feb. 2025
The group’s howls of protest could be heard last year outside the Dujiangyan Panda Base, the temporary home of two pandas that were sent to the US in a carefully orchestrated process cloaked in secrecy to avoid unscripted attention.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 26 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cloak
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Dictionary Entries Near cloak
Cite this Entry
“Cloak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloak. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cloak
1 of 2 noun1
: a long loose outer garment
2
: something that conceals or covers
a cloak of secrecy surrounded the talks
cloak
2 of 2 verb
: to cover or hide with a cloak
Etymology
Noun
Middle English cloke "cloak," from early French cloque "cloak, bell"; so named because a cloak resembled a bell in shape — related to clock
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