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

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above