variants
or less commonly fesse
1
: a broad horizontal bar across the middle of a heraldic field
2
: the center point of an armorial escutcheon
Examples of fess in a Sentence
Verb
he fessed up to breaking the antique vase only after his guilt was obvious
at first he denied everything, but eventually he realized that he had no choice but to fess up
Recent Examples on the Web
WIRED, 9 Feb. 2023
Before taking any action make certain to honestly fess up to your advisers about what your real concerns are.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023
So c'mon, Alec, fess up, what did Bryce tell you?
—CBS News, 1 Nov. 2022
Before making any major life decisions, Joe needed to fess up to what happened earlier.
—Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 5 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for fess
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Verb
Measurement must, at times, suffice as a substitute for understanding, but measurers must fess up to this fudging up-front—as did the inimitable Richard Feynman.
—WIRED, 9 Feb. 2023
Before taking any action make certain to honestly fess up to your advisers about what your real concerns are.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023
So c'mon, Alec, fess up, what did Bryce tell you?
—CBS News, 1 Nov. 2022
Before making any major life decisions, Joe needed to fess up to what happened earlier.
—Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 5 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for fess
Cite this Entry
“Fess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fess. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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