Meanings
take the fifth1
present singular third person takes the fifth · participle present taking the fifth · past took the fifth · participle past taken the fifth · alternative take the Fifth
- idiomaticTo decline to comment, especially on grounds that it might be incriminating.
If you ask me who ate the last of the ice cream, I will simply take the fifth.
1 more example
“Do you believe the violence on January 6 was justified morally?” she asked. Flynn squinted, truculent. “Take the Fifth,” he said.
2022 July 8, Barton Gellman, quoting Michael Flynn, “What Happened to Michael Flynn?”, in The AtlanticSynonyms: plead the Fifth
take the Fifth2
present singular third person takes the Fifth · participle present taking the Fifth · past took the Fifth · participle past taken the Fifth
- Alternative letter-case form of take the fifth.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo decline to comment, especially on grounds that it might be incriminating.
More synonyms by meaning
verbrefuse to testify by invoking the Fifth Amendment, which states that nobody may be forced to testify as a witness against himself or herself
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
A reference to the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which, among other provisions (e.g., prohibition of double jeopardy), protects individuals from being compelled to testify against themselves (i.e., self-incrimination).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
take the fifth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20fifth
“take the fifth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20fifth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the fifth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20fifth.
Source: take the fifth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.