come clean

Idioms  

1. Confess everything, as in If you come clean about what happened I will promise to keep it to myself. [Slang; early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

come clean

I also had to come clean with mom on what I did.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

UN chief Antonio Guterres called Tuesday for faster action on global warming, challenging AI firms to "come clean" about their environmental footprint and warning that fossil fuels were driving climate and energy crises.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

We will come clean with our own views on these races: Whatever, man.

From Slate ● Mar. 21, 2026

And, well, if I was going to write about others with Parkinson’s disease, I would have to come clean about myself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

Any other time I would have been too embarrassed to tell him the truth, but I was so sick of lying that I had an urge to come clean, on this small matter at least.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt