The meaning of cover

Question

In the below sentences, can you give me the meaning of cover, and another example sentence of your normal use of that specific meaning.

And one more, about 'it' following 'cover', what's the meaning of 'it'?

Thanks in advance.

If you are like 98 percent of other people, you will identify the round, amoeboid shape as Bouba, and the sharp, spiky one as Kiki.
Can we do a quick show of hands?
Okay, I think 99.9 would about cover it.

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

At http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cover , the closest definition seems to be "to have sufficient scope to include or take into account".

The meaning in your example is actually slightly ambiguous. It could mean that the result of 99.9% more than satisfies the claimed 98%. Or, it could mean that a quick estimate of 99.9% is probably adequately representative of the true result.

A similar use of "cover": You accidentally broke someone's window. You give them £50 and say "That should cover it" (i.e. that should be sufficient to pay for repairs).

"it" simply refers to the thing that is covered. For example, in my sentence, "it" means "the cost of repairs", or some similar phrase. In full, you could say "That should cover the cost of repairs".

Stenka25 · Answer

Thanks, Mr Wordy.

The meaning of cover

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