fifth

American  

[fifth, fith] / fɪfθ, fɪθ /

adjective

1. next after the fourth; being the ordinal number for five.

2. being one of five equal parts.

3. Automotive. of, relating to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which the drive shaft speed is greater than that of fourth gear for a given engine crankshaft speed.

   fifth gear.

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adverb

1. in the fifth place; fifthly.

noun

• fifths
  plural

1. a fifth part, especially of one (1/5).

2. the fifth member of a series.

3. a fifth part of a gallon of liquor or spirits; 4/5 (0.8) of a quart (about 750 milliliters).

4. Automotive. fifth gear.

5. Music.

   1. a tone on the fifth degree from another tone (counted as the first).

   2. the interval between such tones.

   3. the harmonic combination of such tones.

idioms

1. plead the Fifth, to decline on the basis of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to answer a question when testifying. Also take the Fifth

fifth British  

/ fɪfθ /

adjective

1. 1. coming after the fourth in order, position, time, etc. Often written: 5th

   2. ( as noun )

      he came on the fifth

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noun

1. 1. one of five equal or nearly equal parts of an object, quantity, measurement, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a fifth part

2. the fraction equal to one divided by five ( 1/ 5 )

3. music

   1. the interval between one note and another five notes away from it counting inclusively along the diatonic scale

   2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other See also perfect diminished interval

4. an additional high gear fitted to some motor vehicles

adverb

1. Also: fifthly. after the fourth person, position, event, etc

1. Also: fifthly. as the fifth point: linking what follows with the previous statements, as in a speech or argument

fifth More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fifth

• take the fifth

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fifths
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fifth

First recorded before 1000; earlier fift, Middle English fifte, Old English fīfta; -th by analogy with fourth, etc.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fifth fifths

One of the first major restaurants to embrace DoorDash, the company gets about a fifth of its sales off premises.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Four months into a three-year contract, the Frenchman is already under big pressure after a fifth defeat in eight Premier League games left the Eagles in the bottom four.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Overall, 88% of participants met the higher adherence threshold during the first year, but that figure had dropped to just 79% by the fifth year.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

It also takes place before Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top Communist Party officials meet in Beijing on Monday for an important gathering, the fifth plenary session of the powerful Central Committee.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

“Hidden in plain sight,” I muttered as I yanked the fifth and final one off the concrete wall of the Revere Building and carefully tucked it inside the backpack I’d found abandoned on the playground.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

About two fifths of new incapacity benefit claimants under 25 came directly from education.

From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2025

At meets, Mara racked up prize ribbons: lots of third-places, fourths, fifths, and sixths, the occasional second, the very rare first.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024

Caucus members account for three fifths of the lower house and half of the senate seats.

From Reuters ● Sep. 27, 2023

The song has easy rhythms, said Glass, but it’s more challenging to sing because of the wider vocal range and the way the melody line leaps by fifths and octaves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2023

They had caught Seabiscuit running the fifth-fastest mile ever run, just three fifths of a second off the world record.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

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