fess
1 Americannoun
verb phrase
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of fess1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fes(se), veece, fesshe, from Old French, ultimately from Latin fascia fascia
Origin of fess2
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; shortening of confess
Origin of fess3
First recorded in 1905–10; shortening of professor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The SNP MSP told reporters: "I will freely fess up to things I've done but I will not apologise for things I've not done."
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2025
“I couldn’t find anyone who would fess up to the fact that, ‘Yeah, we had that document in the files.’”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2025
Josh: Hey, Melissa, it’s time to fess up to all these garbage thoughts we’ve had recently.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Despite his repeated attempts to coax Rackstraw to fess up, Colbert was ultimately unsuccessful as Rackstraw continued to deny, deny and deny.
From Salon • Jul. 18, 2022
I overhear Madison telling Brian Li that Lara and Kirsten were actually the first to complete all the clues but didn’t fess up to getting inside information.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.