Word.ws English Dictionary

takes the fifth

takes the fifth is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take the fifth.

Meaning of take the fifth

Verb

take the fifth (third-person singular simple present takes the fifth, present participle taking the fifth, simple past took the fifth, past participle taken the fifth)

  1. (idiomatic) To 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.
    Synonyms:
    plead the Fifth

Verb capitalized: takes the Fifth

takes the Fifth

  1. (indicative, present, singular, third-person) third-person singular simple present indicative of take the Fifth

Questions about takes the fifth

What is takes the fifth the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Takes the fifth is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take the fifth.
What part of speech is takes the fifth?
Takes the fifth is a verb.

Words near takes the fifth in the dictionary

  1. takes the coward's way out
  2. takes the cure
  3. takes the easy way out
  4. takes the edge off
  5. takes the fall
  6. takes the fifth
  7. takes the front seat
  8. takes the game to
  9. takes the gap
  10. takes the gilt off the gingerbread
  11. takes the heat

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: takes the fifth (page history and authors); takes the Fifth (page history and authors); take the fifth (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “takes the fifth.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/takes_the_fifth. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.