own up

Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

own up

He explained why he had passed along the message to Walters: “If he’d just own up to what he’d done, I might talk to somebody about lightening his sentence a little bit.”

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Last year Niti Aayog, the government’s top public-policy think tank, recommended that Chinese companies be allowed to own up to 24% of Indian entities without additional scrutiny.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

When Lestat is made to reckon with what’s presented as “failures” in both his mortal and immortal lives, he can’t quite own up to being a true monster, because that’s not what he really is.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Foreign states will be allowed to own up to 15% of British newspapers and news magazines under new laws.

From BBC ● May 14, 2025

“We are poor folk,” she said, “but poverty isn’t so bad when you’re willing to own up to it, and a contented spirit is a great help, too.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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Related Words

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

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