Big Five

American  

noun

History/Historical.

1. the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan during World War I and at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

2. (after World War II) the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and France.

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Big Five British  

noun

1. the five countries considered to be the major world powers. In the period immediately following World War II, the US, Britain, the Soviet Union, China, and France were regarded as the Big Five

2. the lion, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the buffalo, and the leopard: considered to be the five principal African wild animals, esp as sought by those on safari

3. Also: Big Four.   Big Three.  a small powerful group, as of banks, companies, etc

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Example Sentences

As one of the "big five" nations which provide extra financial support for Eurovision, Spain would normally automatically qualify for the final, along with the UK, Italy, France and Germany and the 2025 winner Austria.

From BBC

Only Wolves have lost more home games in Europe's big five leagues this season than Spurs, with eight.

From BBC

Their spend is touching £150m, but the cold fact for Europe's other 'big five' is that the Premier League will spend more than the four of them combined, just as they had in the summer.

From BBC

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s so-called Big Five—which, along with “Oklahoma!” included “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music”—have remained staples of international theater.

From The Wall Street Journal

From its desultory beginnings, Random House has grown into a behemoth, one of the industry’s Big Five.

From The Wall Street Journal