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take the Fifth

  1. Refuse to answer on the grounds that one may incriminate oneself, as in He took the Fifth on so many of the prosecutor's questions that we're sure he's guilty. This idiom refers to the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself or herself. [Mid-1900s]



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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Anwar said she did not appear in court “due to the nature and content of the petition,” as well as her decision to take the Fifth Amendment, she wrote in an email to The Times.

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Hearst took the Fifth 42 times to avoid questions about her “lost year,” 1975, which included the Carmichael robbery.

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“Take the stand, Donald, or admit you’re a coward,” blares a new ad from the group, Third Way, which highlights Mr. Trump’s past comment that “if you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”

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"His legal team’s strategy was always defensive and focused on limiting liability elsewhere, which is why he took the Fifth hundreds of times in his deposition."

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"Donald Trump Jr. would have had the option of taking the Fifth Amendment," he said.

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