come clean

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come clean

verb comes clean · coming clean · came clean · come clean

idiomatic To confess; admit the truth. "You better come clean, Swan, and tell the whole thing. What was it? Don't talk in circles."
Similar: fess up, own up

Translations

Every language

verb to confess

Español	confesar
日本語	告白する kokuhaku suru
中文	和盤托出 /和盘托出 hépántuōchū, 坦白交待 tǎnbái jiāodài
Français	avouer, se confesser
Deutsch	reinen Tisch machen
Italiano	confessare
Română	mărturisi
Русский	признаться priznatʹsja

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MLA

"come clean." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/come%20clean. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

come clean. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/come%20clean

Chicago

"come clean." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/come%20clean.

BibTeX

@misc{come_clean_2026,
  title = {come clean},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/come%20clean},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}