come clean

phrase

: to tell the whole story : confess

came clean about the crimes

Examples of come clean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Someone could finally come clean, or explain themselves more thoroughly than usual. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

That’s when Perego came clean and showed her a video of him asking her late father. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 27 Aug. 2026

However, the version of Greg that came clean to Denise about being fired, stopped drinking, and stepped up for his family now resides in the belly of a dinosaur. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1918, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for come clean

• acridine
• acrolein
• adenine
• alkylene
• aniline
• anthracene
• aquiline
• asphaltene
• atlantean
• atrazine
• butadiene
• butylene