honest

adjective

1 CHARACTER someone who is honest does not lie or steal etc: It was very honest of him to give them the money back. | an old woman with a plain, honest face you could trust | scrupulously honest (=always very honest): She is scrupulously honest in all her business dealings.

2 STATEMENT/ANSWER ETC not hiding the truth or the facts about something: an honest answer | let's be honest: Let's be honest - the only reason she married him was for his money. | be honest with sb: I'm not sure if Joe was being completely honest with me when he said he'd never met them before. | be honest about sth: At least he's been honest about it.

3 to be honest spoken used when you tell someone what you really think: To be honest, I don't like him very much.

4 honest! spoken used to try to make someone believe you: I didn't mean to hurt him, honest!

5 honest to God spoken used to emphasize that something you say is really true

6 WORK honest work is done without cheating, using your own efforts: I bet he's never done an honest day's work in his life! | earn an honest living: Young families struggling even to earn an honest living.

7 ORDINARY/GOOD PEOPLE honest people are not famous or special, but behave in a good, socially acceptable way: She came from a good, honest, working-class background.

8 make an honest woman (out) of old-fashioned to marry a woman because she is going to have a baby