fifth Hear it!

fifth definition

fifth (fift̸h)

adjective

  1. preceded by four others in a series; 5th
  2. designating any of the five equal parts of something

Etymology: ME fifte < OE fifta < fif, five

noun

  1. the one following the fourth
  2. any of the five equal parts of something;
  3. ☆
    1. a unit of liquid measure for alcoholic beverages, equal to a fifth of a gallon (0.757 liter)
    2. a bottle of alcohol with a capacity of one fifth of a gallon
  4. Music
    1. the fifth tone of an ascending diatonic scale, or a tone four degrees above or below any given tone in such a scale; dominant
    2. the interval between two such tones, or a combination of them
  5. ☆ Informal Fifth Amendment

adverb

in the fifth place, rank, group, etc.

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms fifth idiom

medical fifth definition - medical

fifth Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • population: In spite of this, around two fifths of the adult British population still smoke.

Adjective modifier

  • finishing: She also competed in the 100m where she narrowly failed to reach the final finishing fifth in her heat in 12.80 seconds.

Modifies a noun

  • birthday: Starting School Children can start at the school in the term following their fifth birthday.

Used with adjective complement

  • finish: In Atlanta, riding Too Smart, she was a member of the team which finished fifth.

Preposition: in

  • championship: Now lying in fifth in the championship and very much looking forward to the next round.

Preposition: of

  • respondent: The survey also revealed that almost a fifth of respondents used the Internet to access Government or official services.

Preposition: from

  • bottom: In the European league table of health, we are fifth from the bottom.
fifth usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

fifth quotes

Kangaroo, Kangaroo! Thou Spirit of Australia, That redeems from utter failure, From perfect desolation, And warrants the creation Of this fifth part of the Earth.

-Field, Barron

Come forth, Lazarus! And he came fifth and lost the job.

-Joyce,James Augustine Aloysius

One fifth of the people are against everything all the time.

-Kennedy, Robert F(rancis)

fifth quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"fifth." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/fifth>

APA Style

fifth. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/fifth

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