own up
phrasal verb
owned up; owning up; owns up
: to admit that one has done a usually bad thing : to confess to something
I know he broke the window, but so far, he hasn't owned up.
—usually + toI'm waiting for him to own up to it.
Examples of own up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Every Thanksgiving feast has room for improvement—owning up to this fallibility is the first step in overcoming it.
—
Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 18 Nov. 2023
Instead, challenge yourself to have tough conversations, face your fears, and own up to where making a change in your life would be better suited than going down that same path with a massive pothole again.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
Yet the Kelce brothers have both owned up to being challenging kids in the past.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
Yet, with grieving Israelis demanding answers for what went wrong, there were signs that even some of the prime minister’s allies felt compelled to own up to the shortcomings.
—Josh Lederman, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2023
Cant and obfuscation are worse than owning up to ugly truth, which is that the previous agreement is simply inconvenient for the gallery’s new leadership.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
Estrada told Reuters the film is structured around the idea of transformation, where Nas and his fans represent owning up to one’s identity and becoming the person one is meant to be.
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Sep. 2023
Starlink was also exempted from local rules that restrict foreign companies to owning up to 49% of Malaysian internet providers.
—Bynicholas Gordon, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Still, Miller owns up to a tide shift in her thinking.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
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Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 18 Nov. 2023
Instead, challenge yourself to have tough conversations, face your fears, and own up to where making a change in your life would be better suited than going down that same path with a massive pothole again.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
Yet the Kelce brothers have both owned up to being challenging kids in the past.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
Yet, with grieving Israelis demanding answers for what went wrong, there were signs that even some of the prime minister’s allies felt compelled to own up to the shortcomings.
—Josh Lederman, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2023
Cant and obfuscation are worse than owning up to ugly truth, which is that the previous agreement is simply inconvenient for the gallery’s new leadership.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023
Estrada told Reuters the film is structured around the idea of transformation, where Nas and his fans represent owning up to one’s identity and becoming the person one is meant to be.
—Reuters, NBC News, 11 Sep. 2023
Starlink was also exempted from local rules that restrict foreign companies to owning up to 49% of Malaysian internet providers.
—Bynicholas Gordon, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2023
Still, Miller owns up to a tide shift in her thinking.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'own up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near own up
Cite this Entry
“Own up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/own%20up. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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More from Merriam-Webster on own up
Nglish: Translation of own up for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of own up for Arabic Speakers
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