owned (up)

past tense of own (up)
as in confessed
to make an acknowledgment of something unpleasant as true or valid had a strong suspicion about which coworker stole her food from the office fridge, but the likely culprit refused to own up

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for owned (up)
Verb
  • Carina McCue testified that her husband had confessed to raping their oldest daughter, who was still a minor at the time of the fire.
    Dan Raby, CBS News, 15 June 2026
  • Teixeira’s surge into international reflects a sea-change on independent cinema finance and his own personal passions, Teixeira confessed at ECAM Forum.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 11 June 2026
Verb
  • Expect the unexpected, Cruz admitted.
    Jason Stromberg, Sun Sentinel, 11 June 2026
  • Iranian officials have neither admitted nor denied shooting down the helicopter.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 June 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Owned (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/owned%20%28up%29. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.

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