To find the fifth term of the sequence defined by the function \( f(n) = 2n - 1 \), we need to plug in \( n = 5 \) into the function.
So, we calculate \( f(5) \):
\[ f(5) = 2(5) - 1 \] \[ = 10 - 1 \] \[ = 9 \]
Therefore, the fifth term of the sequence is \( \boxed{9} \).