five

[fahyv]

noun

1. a cardinal number, four plus one.

2. a symbol for this number, as 5 or V.

3. a set of this many persons or things.

4. a playing card, die face, or half of a domino face with five pips.

5. Informal.,  a five-dollar bill.

   Can you give me two fives for a ten?

adjective

1. amounting to five in number.

five

/ faɪv /

noun

1. the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one

2. a numeral, 5, V, etc, representing this number

3. the amount or quantity that is one greater than four

4. something representing, represented by, or consisting of five units, such as a playing card with five symbols on it

determiner

1. 1. amounting to five

      five minutes

      five nights

   2. ( as pronoun )

      choose any five you like

Word History and Origins

Origin of five¹

before 1000; 1925–30 five for def. 7; Middle English; Old English fīf; cognate with Dutch vijf, German fünf, Old Norse fimm, Gothic fimf, Latin quīnque, Greek pénte, Sanskrit pancha

Word History and Origins

Origin of five¹

Old English fīf ; related to Old Norse fimm , Gothic fimf , Old High German finf , Latin quinque , Greek pente , Sanskrit pañca

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take five, to take a brief respite.

see take five.

Example Sentences

Software giant Salesforce is planning to invest $15 billion in San Francisco over the next five years to strengthen the city’s dominance in artificial intelligence.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Spotify began offering video podcasts on its platform about five years ago, offering an option to its podcasters who had previously been posting videos of their audio programs on YouTube.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Falcons are one of only six teams that have had their bye weeks already, meaning Robinson has compiled his total in five games.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

More than 6.5m people across the country benefit from the programme, which provides food to women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or postpartum, as well as infants and children up to five years of age.

Read more on BBC

The other was sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for France, five years for conspiring against national security and 20 years in exile for being complicit in intelligence co-operation with Israel.

Read more on BBC