He hates breaking cover (7)
I believe the answer is:
sheathe
'cover' is the definition.
(to sheathe something is to cover it)
'he hates breaking' is the wordplay.
'breaking' indicates anagramming the letters.
'he'+'hates'='hehates'
'hehates' with letters rearranged gives 'SHEATHE'.
(Other definitions for sheathe that I've seen before include "Encase in protection" , "Cover in case" , "Put into scabbard" , "Protective cover, for sword say" , "Put (a sword) into its holder" .)