own up
verb
owned up; owning up; owns up
: to admit to being responsible for something
denied having broken the window, but later owned up
—usually used with toThey owned up to having broken the window.
Examples of own up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the key creative minds behind Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is owning up to a pair of casting choices widely decried as racially insensitive.
—
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2025
After Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking rookie campaign in the WNBA, one basketball legend is owning up to her thoughts that things would have been tough for the Iowa product.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Flavor Flav is owning up to his mistakes — and moving forward.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2025
More promising behaviors, on the other hand, include sincerely apologizing, owning up to mistakes, or, at the very least, patiently working through your hesitations together.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for own up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2025
After Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking rookie campaign in the WNBA, one basketball legend is owning up to her thoughts that things would have been tough for the Iowa product.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Flavor Flav is owning up to his mistakes — and moving forward.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2025
More promising behaviors, on the other hand, include sincerely apologizing, owning up to mistakes, or, at the very least, patiently working through your hesitations together.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for own up
Cite this Entry
“Own up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own%20up. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share