own
[ ohn ]
/ oʊn /
adjective
of, relating to, or belonging to oneself or itself (usually used after a possessive to emphasize the idea of ownership, interest, or relation conveyed by the possessive): He spent only his own money.
(used as an intensifier to indicate oneself as the sole agent of some activity or action, preceded by a possessive): He insists on being his own doctor.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to confess (often followed by to, up, or up to): The one who did it had better own up. I own to being uncertain about that.
Idioms for own
Origin of own
before 900; (adj.) Middle English
owen, Old English
āgen (cognate with German
eigen, Old Norse
eigenn), orig. past participle of
āgan to possess (see
owe); (v.) Middle English
ownen, Old English
āgnian, āhnian, derivative of
āgen
OTHER WORDS FROM own
non·own·ing, adjective un·owned, adjectiveWords nearby own
British Dictionary definitions for own up
own
/ (əʊn) /
determiner (preceded by a possessive)
verb
Word Origin for own
Old English
āgen, originally past participle of
āgan to have; related to Old Saxon
ēgan, Old Norse
eiginn. See
owe
Idioms and Phrases with own up (1 of 2)
own up
Confess, make a full admission, as in Come on, Tim, you'd better own up that you lost the car keys. This idiom uses the verb own in the sense of “acknowledge.” [Colloquial; mid-1800s]
Idioms and Phrases with own up (2 of 2)
own