plead the Fifth

phrase

variants or less commonly plead the Fifth Amendment or plead the fifth

chiefly US

: to refuse to testify against oneself in a court of law in accordance with the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution : take the fifth

… appeared … for a deposition, but pled the Fifth dozens of times.

—Deepa Shivaram

… wanted to plead the Fifth Amendment because he feared he'd incriminate himself.

—Noah Goldberg

—often used figuratively

When asked if he felt appreciated by the Patriots, [Tom] Brady famously pleaded the fifth.

—Ben Volin

Examples of plead the Fifth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With Guevara already pleading the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination, the plaintiffs’ attorneys could pepper him with questions in front of a jury that would hear, over and over, his refusal to answer. — Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026

Markus said without any of those arrangements, Maxwell would plead the fifth. — Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 29 July 2025

Annie Tomasini on Friday became the third Biden administration official to plead the Fifth Amendment in a House panel's investigation into former President Joe Biden's mental fitness and use of a presidential autopen while in office. — John Parkinson, ABC News, 18 July 2025

Legal analysts have reiterated to Newsweek that pleading the Fifth does not necessarily mean witnesses are guilty of any crime. — Mandy Taheri gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025

He was given immunity to testify after previously refusing to answer questions, pleading the Fifth. — Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 3 Feb. 2025

But his lawyers might well advise him to plead the Fifth Amendment and decline to testify. — Joel Khalili, WIRED, 3 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above