five
gb/fˈaɪv/ us/fˈaɪv/
A1
English
~ 800
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A1
quantity
1
The number 5
The number that comes after four and before six.
Usage pattern:
[number] [countable noun]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'five' with 'fifth', which is the ordinal form meaning position number five.
Synonyms
5 (Numerical digit representing the same quantity in symbolic form.)
Antonyms
four (Represents one less than five.)
Collocations
five years
|five minutes
|five people
|five times
Themes
mathematics
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She has five apples in her basket.
- The meeting will start in five minutes.
- Five students won awards this year.
- He is five years old.
- The bus arrives at five o’clock.
Learner examples
- I have five books.
- We will meet in five minutes.
- There are five cats in the room.
- My brother is five years old.
- The clock shows five.
Noun
B1
entity
2
A set of five items or people
A group that has five people or things in it.
Usage pattern:
a [noun] of five
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this with the numeral meaning, not realizing it refers to a collective group.
Synonyms
quintet (More formal or musical term for a group of five.)
Antonyms
four (A group with one fewer member than a group of five.)
Collocations
starting five
|group of five
|big five
Themes
sports
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The basketball team’s starting five played well.
- We formed a group of five for the project.
- The big five animals are popular with safari tourists.
- Only five came to the meeting.
- The band performed as a five.
Learner examples
- Our class made a team of five.
- There are five in my family.
- We saw five lions together.
- The basketball team has a strong starting five.
- They work as a group of five.
Grammar
Dictionary form
five
IPA
GB/fˈaɪv/
US/fˈaɪv/
Syllables & stress
five (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (five)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: five
- Plural: fives
Word family
Expressions
give me five
1/ɡˈɪv mˈi fˈaɪv/
fixed phrase
informal
Request for a high-five gesture
You say this when you want someone to slap your hand in greeting or celebration.
Examples
- After scoring the goal, he shouted, 'Give me five!' to his teammate.
- She laughed and said, 'Give me five!' when we finished the project.
high five
1/hˈaɪ fˈaɪv/
fixed phrase
Celebratory hand slap gesture
When two people raise a hand each and hit them together to show happiness or greeting.
Examples
- They exchanged a high five after winning the match.
- She gave him a high five when he solved the problem.
take five
1/tˈeɪk fˈaɪv/
idiom
informal
Take a short rest break
To stop working for a short time, usually around five minutes.
Examples
- Let's take five before we continue with the meeting.
- They decided to take five after two hours of rehearsal.