- (intransitive) followed by up: informal chiefly US to make a confession
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
fess1
(fes),USA pronunciation n. [Heraldry.]
fess2 (fes),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i. [Informal.]
fess3 (fes),USA pronunciation n. [Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.]
- Heraldryan ordinary in the form of a broad horizontal band across the middle of an escutcheon.
- Anglo-French
Latin fascia fascia - Middle English fesse 1350–1400
fess2 (fes),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i. [Informal.]
- fess up, to admit or concede, esp. freely.
- aphetic shortening of confess 1830–40
fess3 (fes),USA pronunciation n. [Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.]
- Dialect Termsa teacher.
- shortening of professor
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fess /fɛs/ vb
-fess-, root.
- -fess- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "declare;
acknowledge.'' This meaning is found in such words as: confess, confession, confessional, profess, professed, profession, professional, professor, unprofessional.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
fesse, fess /fɛs/ n
- an ordinary consisting of a horizontal band across a shield, conventionally occupying a third of its length and being wider than a bar
'fess' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
fesse
- bar
- checky
- coupe
- fess point
- gyron
- heart point
- honorable ordinary
- nombril
- nowy