Covered in or Covered with?

Question

'The windows were completely steamed up, covered in/with condensation'?Which is correct?

Ivanhr · Accepted Answer

An online dictionary I've consulted says 'covered with steam'.

BTW, the 'covered with condensation' part is redundant as the phrasal steamed up means exactly that.

Ryansamturner · Answer

Thanks.

That was just an example sentence.

So, if I were saying:

'The windows were covered with condensation.'

This would be the correct way?

Ivanhr · Answer

Yes, though , admittedly 'in' doesn't sound wrong to me, either.

GPY · Answer

You can use either. Personally, I would more naturally use "in".

AlpheccaStars · Answer

To me, "in" means completely smothered, not easily taken off or removed:

After the spill, many birds were covered in oil.
The mummies were wrapped in linen.
The gifts were wrapped in brightly colored foil. (Implies they looked so beautiful, that it was a shame to remove the wrapping paper.)

"with" means that the covering can be easily removed, or it was meant to be removed.

The banquet was covered with sheets to keep the flies off.
The gifts were wrapped with blue tissue paper.
The patio was protected with waterproof sheets of heavy plastic.

That being said, the two prepositions are often interchangeable.

'The windows were covered with condensation. (It is easy to wipe off the condensation.)
'The windows were covered in condensation. (The condensation will stay there until it evaporates.)

GPY · Answer

AlpheccaStarsTo me, "in" means completely smothered, not easily taken off or removed:After the spill, many birds were covered in oil.

I don't personally detect such a difference, certainly with "covered" anyway. To me, "covered with oil" sounds no more or less completely smothered and not-easily-removable than "covered in oil".

Covered in or Covered with?

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