Own Up

Pronunciation: /oʊn ʌp/

Definitions of own up

verb to admit or acknowledge something, especially something that one has done wrong

Example Sentences

A1 I need to own up to my mistake and apologize.

A2 She finally owned up to stealing the cookies.

B1 It's important to own up to your responsibilities.

B2 He decided to own up to his involvement in the project.

C1 The CEO had to own up to the company's financial losses.

C2 The politician refused to own up to his scandalous actions.

Examples of own up in a Sentence

formal It is important to own up to your mistakes in a professional setting.

informal Just own up and admit that you were wrong.

slang Don't be a coward, man up and own up to what you did.

figurative Sometimes we need to own up to our past in order to move forward.

Grammatical Forms of own up

• past tense: owned
• plural: own up
• comparative: more own up
• superlative: most own up
• present tense: owns up
• future tense: will own up
• perfect tense: have owned up
• continuous tense: is owning up
• singular: owns up
• positive degree: own up
• infinitive: to own up
• gerund: owning up
• participle: owned up

Origin and Evolution of own up

First Known Use: 1400 year

Language of Origin: Middle English

Story behind the word: The phrase 'own up' originated from Middle English, where 'own' meant to acknowledge or confess to something.

Evolution of the word: Over time, 'own up' has retained its original meaning of confessing or acknowledging responsibility for something, but it has also taken on a more informal tone in modern usage.