make a clean breast
/ˈmeɪk ə ˈkliːn bɹɛst/
"make-a-clean-breast" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“make a clean breast” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 19
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Often followed by of: to be honest about something; to confess.
Corpus desk
Index EN-make-a-clean-breast · make a clean breast · English
make a clean breast · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 19 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "M" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | make a clean breast |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈmeɪk ə ˈkliːn bɹɛst/ |
| Letters | 19 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “make a clean breast” in English
Rare enough to double-check
make a clean breast is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈmeɪk ə ˈkliːn bɹɛst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Often followed by of: to be honest about something; to confess.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for make a clean breast, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the notion that secrets are figuratively hidden in the heart which is contained in the breast (“chest”), and that admitting them will cause the heart to become clean and pure. The correct English form is make a clean breast, spelled M-A-K-E- -A- -C-L-E-A-N- -B-R-E-A-S-T.
Definition
- 1Often followed by of: to be honest about something; to confess.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how make a clean breast appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He preſſed him earneſtly to make a clean breaſt, and tell him all he knew of [Colin Roy Campbell of] Glenure's murder. To which Breck [i.e., Alan Breck Stewart] anſwered with an oath, that he had never ſeen Glenure dead or alive.
"Master," he said that day to me, "this must come to an end. I must make a clean breast of it. This Nemo is leaving land and going up to the north. But I declare to you that I have had enough of the South Pole, and I will not follow him to the North."
Etymology
From the notion that secrets are figuratively hidden in the heart which is contained in the breast (“chest”), and that admitting them will cause the heart to become clean and pure.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.