come out of the closet

1. To publicly announce a belief or preference that one has kept hidden, especially one's sexual preference: “At the last moment, the representative came out of the closet and announced her support for the controversial amendment.” (See skeleton in the closet.)

Idioms and Phrases

see come out, def. 6.

Related Words

• acknowledge 
• admit 
• confess 
• discover 
• divulge 
• leak 
• publish 
• reveal 
• tell 
• uncover 
• unveil