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Glite Dictionary
to own it

to own it

43 7.0
Admit a fault or a personal quality and act confidently
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : asumir
  • You must work together to build it and own it.

And then they said, but we're going to own it, you know?

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Examples

  • When you make a mistake, it's important to own it and learn from it.

  • So I commend you for owning it and trying to heal it.

    Blog text (17)

  • I will walk into a room and own it the way they do.

  • You live in your foundation and you know you own it, so you rock it.

    Apollonia Ponti

  • The moment you own it, you better never let it go.

  • You should test everything I teach you and own it yourself.

  • You walk up and down this block like you own it.

    Do the Right Thing (1989)

  • You represent classic rock, and you come out here and own it every time.

    Blog text (3)

  • And people are going to respect you more for owning it than trying to backtrack.

    Blog text (11)

  • You're unique, you're perfect and just own it, I think.

    Rich Roll

Synonyms

to take responsibility
vsto own it
193 3.3

To admit you caused a problem and accept the blame

emphasizes proud confident ownership of self and actions rather than mere duty
to own up
vsto own it
  • Informal
38 4.4

Admit that you did something wrong or made a mistake

shows confident, proud acceptance of self beyond a simple confession of error
to own up to
vsto own it
  • Informal
33 4.2

To say you did something wrong or embarrassing

embraces one's qualities and actions proudly rather than only confessing faults
to take it upon oneself
vsto own it
28 5.3

Decide to do something and accept responsibility without being asked

accepts faults and qualities confidently and with personal pride rather than by volunteering
to carry the can
vsto own it
  • UK
1 7.9

To accept blame or responsibility that others refuse

accepts responsibility willingly and with pride rather than bearing blame unfairly

Antonyms

to deny
423 1.6

To refuse to let someone have something

to evade
31 3.9

To avoid doing something you should do, for example a duty or a direct question

How Responsible

to own it
  • Informal
43 7.0
to admit
∞ 2.0

Surface Forms

own it infinitive
owned it past
owned it past participle
owning it present participle
owns it third person singular

Morphology

own + it

The MWE's sense of accepting responsibility or confidently displaying something is a figurative extension of 'own' (to possess or admit), while 'it' is a non-specific pronoun that adds no semantic clarity. Because the meaning relies on a metaphoric/pragmatic shift from literal possession and is conventionally used in spoken instruction or evaluation, a B1 learner who only knows the basic senses of the parts may not reliably infer the full MWE meaning without exposure.

Etymology

The phrase own it comes from the idea of own meaning to have or hold and it meaning the thing you hold. Imagine someone picking up a sign that says 'my mistake' and carrying it, and you can see why own it now means 'to accept responsibility' or 'to be proud of who you are'.