Meaning & use
sent under separate cover
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phrasebusiness
Being mailed in a separate envelope or package, rather than together with the present letter or parcel.
Grammar: Used after a noun or as a past-participle phrase: 'The report was sent under separate cover.'
Patterns
- be sent under separate cover
- something sent under separate cover
- send something under separate cover
The signed contract is being sent under separate cover.
Your certificate was sent under separate cover last week.
Please note that the catalog is sent under separate cover.
Common combinations
- be sent under separate cover
- The original documents will be sent under separate cover.
- enclose something under separate cover
- The brochure is enclosed under separate cover for your records.
- arrive under separate cover
- The samples should arrive under separate cover within three days.
Synonyms and how they differ
- by separate mail
- This is a more general phrase and can mean a separate postal delivery, while 'under separate cover' specifically means in a different envelope or package.
Commonly confused: sent under separate cover or under the same cover?
sent under separate cover vs under the same cover
This means the item is included with the letter, the opposite of 'sent under separate cover'.
Practice
In a business letter, what does 'The invoice was sent under separate cover' mean?
Choose one answer.
'Under separate cover' means it was mailed separately. Option 0 is wrong because that would be 'enclosed'; option 2 takes 'cover' literally as a physical cover, and option 3 is simply false.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sent under separate cover”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.