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

"It is time to come clean," Guterres said.

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

I said, “Yes, sir. But isn’t it just like my luck to come clean across the state to find my daddy and he turns out to be a mean old coot?”

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis