fess up
phrasal verb
fessed up; fessing up; fesses up
chiefly US, informal
: to admit that one has done something wrong : confess
At first he denied everything, but eventually he fessed up.
He finally fessed up about his involvement.
Examples of fess up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Cheating is so rarely about the other person, and Calvin, for all his faults, is at least able to fess up to that.
—
Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
The Austin Powers star reflected on voicing everyone's favorite ogre in an interview with the Good One podcast — and detailed how the filmmakers at DreamWorks Animation didn't want to fess up about his late Saturday Night Live costar, Chris Farley, being the first choice for the character.
—EW.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Those who refused were sent to an administrator’s office to call their parents and fess up to breaking the rule.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
McAvoy certainly isn't the first Hollywood star to fess up to crushing on Aniston.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2024
Fans have started calling on Earle to either fess up and apologize or prove the allegations were false or fabricated.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2024
Eventually, this does convince Sadie to fess up to her editor, but surely Dale is not yet done with his revenge mission.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
But praise was given for Palomar’s willingness to fess up to the incident.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2024
As in complications from the procedure, which forced Austin back to the hospital on Monday, Jan. 1, and the Pentagon to fess up late on Friday.
—Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2024
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Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2025
The Austin Powers star reflected on voicing everyone's favorite ogre in an interview with the Good One podcast — and detailed how the filmmakers at DreamWorks Animation didn't want to fess up about his late Saturday Night Live costar, Chris Farley, being the first choice for the character.
—EW.com, 6 Dec. 2024
Those who refused were sent to an administrator’s office to call their parents and fess up to breaking the rule.
—Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 2 Dec. 2024
McAvoy certainly isn't the first Hollywood star to fess up to crushing on Aniston.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2024
Fans have started calling on Earle to either fess up and apologize or prove the allegations were false or fabricated.
—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 9 Aug. 2024
Eventually, this does convince Sadie to fess up to her editor, but surely Dale is not yet done with his revenge mission.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Mar. 2024
But praise was given for Palomar’s willingness to fess up to the incident.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2024
As in complications from the procedure, which forced Austin back to the hospital on Monday, Jan. 1, and the Pentagon to fess up late on Friday.
—Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Fess up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fess%20up. Accessed 20 Mar. 2025.
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