let on

British  

verb

1. to allow (something, such as a secret) to be known; reveal

   he never let on that he was married

2. (tr) to cause or encourage to be believed; pretend

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let on Idioms  

1. Reveal one's true feelings or a fact, allow something to be known, as in Don't let on that you met her before . This usage is probably a shortening of let it on someone . [c. 1700]

2. Pretend, as in He let on that he was very angry, but in fact he didn't care a bit . [First half of 1800s] Also see let in on .

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

let on

But when pressed, campers let on that the market jitters are getting to them—a bit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The total cost to train and run DeepSeek’s model was exponentially higher than the company let on, and investors failed to consider that businesses generally wouldn’t use Chinese models due to security concerns.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

"I was going out with my son and he said 'hello how are you?' and so on. He always let on."

From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025

If the no vote of his former ally in McConnell fazed him, the president didn't let on.

From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2025

If he noticed me staring at him, he didn’t let on.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows