INDEX:
1. to admit that you have done something wrong or illegal
2. a statement admitting that you have done something wrong
3. to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about
4. to admit that something is true
5. what you say when you admit that something is true
6. what you say when you think someone should admit something
7. to admit that what you said or believed was wrong
RELATED WORDS
to deny that something is true : ↑ SAY
see also
↑ CRIME
↑ MISTAKE
↑ GUILTY
↑ ACCUSE
◆◆◆
1. to admit that you have done something wrong or illegal
▷ admit /ədˈmɪt/ [transitive verb]
to say that you have done something wrong or illegal, especially when someone asks or persuades you to do this :
admit (that)
▪ Rachel admitted that she had made a mistake.
▪ Blake finally admitted he had stolen the money.
admit (to) doing something
▪ Richard Maldonado admitted accepting bribes.
▪ He admits to stealing the car.
admit it
spoken
▪ Admit it! You lied to me!
admit responsibility/liability/negligence
admit publicly that something is legally your fault
▪ The hospital refused to admit liability for the deaths of the two young children.
▷ confess /kənˈfes/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to tell the police or someone in a position of authority that you have done something very bad, especially after they have persuaded you to do this :
▪ After two days of questioning, he finally confessed.
confess (that)
▪ She confessed that she had killed her husband.
confess to a crime/robbery/murder etc
▪ McCarthy confessed to the crime shortly after his arrest.
confess to doing something
▪ Edwards eventually confessed to being a spy.
▷ own up /ˌəʊn ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to admit that you have done something wrong, especially something that is not serious. Own up is more informal than admit or confess :
▪ Unless the guilty person owns up, the whole class will be punished.
own up to (doing) something
▪ No one owned up to breaking the window.
▪ I made a few mistakes, but I owned up to them.
▷ come clean /ˌkʌm ˈkliːn/ [verb phrase] informal
to finally tell the truth or admit that you have done something wrong :
▪ The bank eventually came clean and admitted they had made a mistake.
come clean about
▪ It’s time the government came clean about its plans to raise income tax.
▷ fess up /ˌfes ˈʌp/ [intransitive phrasal verb] especially American, informal
to admit that you have done something wrong, but not something that is very serious :
▪ Come on, fess up - you must have been the one who told her because no-one else knew!
▪ If none of you guys fesses up, you’re all grounded for a week.
2. a statement admitting that you have done something wrong
▷ confession /kənˈfeʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
an official statement that someone makes to the police, admitting that they have done something illegal and explaining what happened :
▪ Sergeant Thompson wrote down Smith’s confession and asked him to sign it.
make a confession
▪ In a confession made to police shortly after his arrest, Davis said he had killed the victim with a kitchen knife.
full confession
▪ By making a full confession, Reeves hoped he would be more kindly treated by the authorities.
▷ admission /ədˈmɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun usually singular]
when you admit that you were wrong or that you have done something bad or illegal :
admission (that)
▪ The Senator’s admission that he had lied to Congress shocked many Americans.
What an admission (to make)!
▪ You only married him for his money? What an admission!
admission of guilt
when you admit that you are guilty
▪ The court may assume that your silence is an admission of guilt.
3. to admit something that you feel embarrassed or ashamed about
▷ admit/confess /ədˈmɪt, kənˈfes/ [transitive verb]
▪ ‘I’ve always hated flying,’ Lisa confessed.
admit/confess (that)
▪ She admits that she occasionally bets on horses.
▪ Dave confessed he didn’t visit his parents as often as he should.
admit/confess (to) doing something
▪ Monica admitted playing rather badly in her last match.
▪ He confesses to being afraid of the dark.
I must admit/confess
say this when you do not know something or cannot do something
▪ I must admit I was never very good at dancing.
▪ I don’t really like kids, I must confess.
▷ to be honest/to tell the truth /tə biː ˈɒnə̇st, tə ˌtel ðə ˈtruːθǁ-ˈɑːn-/
say this when you admit something that other people might disagree with or disapprove of :
▪ ‘What do you think of John?’ ‘To be honest, I don’t like him at all.’
▪ To tell the truth, I wasn’t really listening to what everyone was saying.
▪ To be perfectly honest, I don’t think she should have married him.
4. to admit that something is true
▷ admit also concede formal /ədˈmɪt, kənˈsiːd/ [transitive verb]
to accept that something is true, especially when you do not want to :
▪ ‘Well, I suppose there is some truth in what you say,’ she admitted.
admit (that)
▪ In the end he had to admit that I was right.
▪ You may not like her, but you have to admit that she’s good at her job.
▪ Jackson conceded that higher taxes on big cars would have a harmful effect on the UK’s motor industry.
▪ Janis was forced to concede that much of her argument was based on prejudice.
admit it
spoken
▪ You were wrong, weren’t you? Come on, admit it!
▷ acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒǁ-ˈnɑː-/ [transitive verb] formal
to admit that something is true or that a situation exists, even though you may not like it, it is not completely satisfactory, may be a problem etc :
▪ You have to acknowledge the truth of what she says.
acknowledge (that)
▪ He acknowledges it’s going to be a tough job, but he’s going to try it anyway.
▪ The committee acknowledges that mentally ill people in the community are not receiving the care and treatment they need.
acknowledgment/acknowledgement [countable/uncountable noun]
▪ The report contained no acknowledgment that the police used excessive violence when arresting demonstrators.
5. what you say when you admit that something is true
▷ it’s true that /ɪts ˈtruː ðət/
say this when you admit that what someone has said is true, but you want to add something new or different that is also important :
▪ Of course it’s true that a lot of men like beer and football, but this doesn’t mean that they all do.
▪ It’s true that there have been some very serious train accidents recently, but it’s generally quite a safe way to travel.
▷ admittedly /ədˈmɪtɪdli, ədˈmɪtədli/ [adverb]
▪ Admittedly I didn’t get as much work done as I’d hoped this morning, but it should be finished soon.
▪ Yes, I have studied Japanese - though not for long, admittedly.
6. what you say when you think someone should admit something
▷ let’s face it /lets ˈfeɪs ɪt/
say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true :
▪ Let’s face it, the England team are not good enough to beat Holland.
▪ People are basically selfish, let’s face it.
▷ there’s no getting around something /ðeəʳz ˌnəʊ getɪŋ əˈraʊnd something/
say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true and that it cannot be changed :
there’s no getting around it
▪ There’s no getting around it - we’ll have to start again from the beginning.
there’s no getting around the fact that
▪ There’s no getting around the fact that most people prefer to travel to work in their own cars, rather than by bus or train.
▷ you can’t escape the fact that /juː ˌkɑːnt ɪˈskeɪp ðə fækt ðətǁ-ˌkænt-/
say this when you want other people to admit that something, especially an unpleasant fact, is true and that it cannot be changed :
▪ We cannot escape the fact that Mr. Mireki’s death arose from a job-related activity.
▪ You can’t escape the fact that we all have to die some day.
7. to admit that what you said or believed was wrong
▷ take back /ˌteɪk ˈbæk/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to say that a criticism you previously made was wrong :
take back something
▪ I take back everything I said.
take something back
▪ ‘You will take that remark back and apologize immediately!’ he roared.
take it back
▪ She had no right to talk to you like that. You should go in there and make her take it all back.
▷ climb down /ˌklaɪm ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive phrasal verb] British
if one side in an argument climbs down, they agree to accept the other side’s demands, especially after admitting that they were wrong :
▪ Neither side in the dispute has been willing to climb down.
▪ European Court decisions have forced several employers to climb down and change their policy on women’s pay.
climbdown /ˈklaɪmdaʊn/ [countable noun]
▪ a humiliating climbdown by the government over their economic policies
▷ eat your words /ˌiːt jɔːʳ ˈwɜːʳdz/ [verb phrase] informal
to be forced to admit that you were wrong because what you said would happen did not in fact happen :
▪ I never thought Clare would be any good at this job, but I’ve had to eat my words.
make somebody eat their words
▪ When Tottenham went to the top of the league early in the season, people said it wouldn’t last. They have had to eat their words.
▷ eat humble pie informal also eat crow American informal /iːt ˌhʌmb ə l ˈpaɪ , iːt ˈkrəʊ/ [verb phrase]
to be forced to admit that you were wrong and say that you are sorry :
▪ Taylor’s victory in the semi-final has forced many of her critics to eat humble pie.
▪ Martinez had to eat crow when he bragged that the Red Sox would win the division and they came in last.