come clean

come clean — idiom

1. to finally admit something you did wrong or kept secret, telling someone the ful

1.慣用語B2
釋義

to finally admit something you did wrong or kept secret, telling someone the full truth after hiding it

例句

Mia finally came clean about the broken vase when her mother found the pieces under the sofa.

come clean + about + [noun phrase]

After weeks of lies, Diego came clean to his boss about losing the company's client records.

同義詞
  • confess

    more formal; often used in legal or religious contexts

  • fess up

    even more informal than 'come clean'; common in American English

  • own up

    suggests taking responsibility rather than just revealing a secret

反義詞
  • cover up

    to hide the truth instead of revealing it

  • lie

    to say something that is not true, the opposite of confessing

文法句型

come clean + about + [noun / gerund]

come clean + to + [person]

come clean + (no object)

用法筆記

Common in everyday conversation and journalism. Frequently followed by 'about' (the secret) and/or 'to' (the person being told). Often used when the admission happens after a period of avoidance or deception.

常見錯誤

❌He came clean the money.
✅He came clean about the money.
💡'come clean' needs 'about' before the thing you confess to.
❌She came clean that she broke the window.
✅She came clean and admitted that she broke the window.' or 'She came clean about breaking the window.
💡'come clean' is not directly followed by a that-clause.