redeem oneself

verb

To resolve, or make up for, one's previous folly.

“I know in the past I've been a giant twat, but all the hard work I've done since then is to redeem myself. I just want to do something useful, and I'm sorry if I cock it up sometimes.”

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Meanings

verbredeem oneself (third-person singular simple present redeems oneself, present participle redeeming oneself, simple past and past participle redeemed oneself)

present singular third person redeems oneself · participle present redeeming oneself · participle past redeemed oneself · past redeemed oneself

  1. idiomaticTo resolve, or make up for, one's previous folly.

    I know in the past I've been a giant twat, but all the hard work I've done since then is to redeem myself. I just want to do something useful, and I'm sorry if I cock it up sometimes.

    1 more example

    Behind them, goalkeeper Senne Lammens redeemed himself on the one occasion he made a serious mistake, turning away a goal-bound Max Alleyne header from a corner the Belgian had needlessly given away.

    2026 January 17, Simon Stone, Shamoon Hafez, “Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City”, in BBC
Cite this entry
APA

redeem oneself. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/redeem%20oneself

MLA

“redeem oneself.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/redeem%20oneself. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “redeem oneself,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/redeem%20oneself.

Source: redeem oneself on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.