fess up

phrasal-verb
UK: /ˌfes ˈʌp/
US: /ˌfes ˈʌp/

  1. To admit that you have done something wrong or something that you should not have done.

    1. I had to fess up about the broken vase, or my sister would get blamed.
    2. After denying it for days, he finally had to fess up to stealing the cookie from the jar.

Synonyms

confess admit own up fess
fess up intransitive-verb

  1. To confess or admit to something, often reluctantly or after initially denying it.

    1. Just fess up, did you eat my sandwich?
    2. The company had to fess up to the accounting errors after the audit revealed discrepancies.
fess up transitive-verb

  1. To admit something, especially something embarrassing or that you have done wrong.

    1. He made me fess up to breaking the window.
    2. The police pressured the suspect to fess up during the intense interrogation session.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "fess up" is /ˌfes ˈʌp/ in British English and /ˌfes ˈʌp/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "fess up": confess, admit, own up, fess.

Example usage of "fess up": "I had to fess up about the broken vase, or my sister would get blamed.". More examples on the page.