own up

Idioms and Phrases

Confess, make a full admission, as in Come on, Tim, you'd better own up that you lost the car keys . This idiom uses the verb own in the sense of “acknowledge.” [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]

Related Words

• accept
• affirm
• agree
• allow
• approve
• concede
• confirm
• declare
• disclose
• grant
• indicate
• permit
• recognize
• reveal
• talk
• tell