own up
"own-up" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“own up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To acknowledge, confess, or admit guilt or responsibility.
Corpus desk
Index EN-own-up · own up · English
own up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" 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 | own up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “own up” in English
Rare enough to double-check
own up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To acknowledge, confess, or admit guilt or responsibility.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for own up in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is own up, spelled O-W-N- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To acknowledge, confess, or admit guilt or responsibility.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how own up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I'll own up: I glued your mouse to its mat.
If you own up to breaking the glass, you'll be forgiven.
This word in other languages
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.