Synonyms

eat one's words

Idioms

Be forced to retract something one has said, as in The incumbent won easily, so I had to eat my words. This expression was already proverbial in John Ray's English Proverbs (1670). [Second half of 1500s]

Example Sentences

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To eat one's words; to retract what one has said.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023