Word.ws English Dictionary

taking the fifth

taking the fifth is the present participle and gerund 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: taking the Fifth

taking the Fifth

  1. (gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of take the Fifth

Questions about taking the fifth

What is taking the fifth the present participle and gerund of?
Taking the fifth is the present participle and gerund of take the fifth.
What part of speech is taking the fifth?
Taking the fifth is a verb.

Words near taking the fifth in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking the fifth (page history and authors); taking 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.

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