take the Fifth

idiomatic phrase

variants or less commonly take the Fifth Amendment
chiefly US
: to refuse to testify against oneself in a court of law in accordance with the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution : plead the Fifth
She got called to testify … and took the Fifth. That's certainly her right …Ed Morrissey
Government lawyers say he took the Fifth Amendment in response to 176 of 390 questions he was asked.Josh Gerstein
often used figuratively
I would really like to say something funny here, but will instead take the Fifth.Mike Vaccaro
… I kind of have to take the Fifth. Mainly because I never talk about my own work in progress …William Gibson, quoted at wired.com

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of take the Fifth was in 1953

Dictionary Entries Near take the Fifth

Cite this Entry

“Take the Fifth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/take%20the%20Fifth. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!