five

IPA/faɪv/
KK[fˈaɪv]IPA/faɪv/

five — noun

  • fivesingular
  • fivesplural

1. a group of five players who form one side in a basketball game

1.nounB1
Definition

a group of five players who form one side in a basketball game

Example

Niran plays guard on his school's starting five.

collocation: starting five

The coach put a tall five on the court to block more shots.

adjective + five for team composition

Common collocations
  • starting five
  • first five
  • tall five
  • short five
  • fast five
Synonyms
  • team

    general term; five is specific to basketball squads

  • lineup

    emphasises the list of players chosen; five focuses on the group on the court

  • squad

    broader — can include reserves; five refers only to the players on the floor

Grammar Patterns

the + five

a + adjective + five

Usage Note

Usually paired with a modifier like starting, first, or an adjective describing the team's style (tall, short, fast). Rarely used outside basketball contexts.

Common Mistakes

The five of basketball
the starting five
the noun five meaning 'team' is not used with of-phrases describing the sport.

2. a traditional British ball game where two or four gloved players use their hands

2.nounC1
Definition

a traditional British ball game where two or four gloved players use their hands to hit a firm ball against the walls of a walled court

Example

Christopher learned to play fives at his British boarding school.

play + fives

The school's fives court was built next to the main sports hall.

compound noun: fives court

Common collocations
  • fives court
  • play fives
  • a game of fives
  • fives ball

Grammar Patterns

play + five(s)

a game of + five(s)

Usage Note

Almost always written as fives (with a final -s) when referring to the sport. The game is primarily played at British private schools and universities. Not to be confused with squash or racquetball — in fives, players use a gloved hand rather than a racket.

3. a way of greeting or showing excitement by raising an open hand and slapping som

3.nounA2
Definition

a way of greeting or showing excitement by raising an open hand and slapping someone else's raised palm

Example

Elena gave Meera a big high five after the exam results came out.

give + someone + a high five

The children exchanged fives when their team scored the winning goal.

exchange + fives (plural)

Common collocations
  • give someone a high five
  • give someone five
  • exchange fives
  • high five
  • low five
Synonyms
  • high five

    the full and more explicit form; five alone is a shortened informal version

  • low five

    a similar gesture performed at waist level, less common

Grammar Patterns

give + someone + a five / a high five

exchange + fives

Usage Note

Used informally in greeting, congratulation, or celebration. The full form high five is more common in written English; five alone appears in phrases like give me five. The gesture can also be called a low five (slapping at waist height).

five — number

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: number/1

Unlike five, which is an exact cardinal number, a half dozen means six and a handful suggests an approximate small quantity (typically between three and five). Five is precise and used in counting, measuring, and identifying positions (page five, five o'clock). A handful is deliberately vague — you might say 'a handful of people showed up' when you saw four or five but are not being exact. A half dozen, by contrast, is exact but less common in everyday speech: 'a half dozen eggs' instead of 'six eggs.' In informal contexts, Taiwanese learners sometimes use a handful to mean five, but the safer choice for accuracy is five itself.

five ↗a half dozena handful

Common collocations

Nouns

  • number five
  • page five
  • chapter five
  • group of five
  • set of five
  • five o'clock
  • five dollars
  • five minutes

Phrases

Prepositions

  • five of
  • out of five
  • by fives

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Five comes from Old English fīf, which traces back to Proto-Germanic *fimf and further to the Proto-Indo-European root *pénkʷe. This ancient root appears in many languages across the Indo-European family: Latin quīnque (source of English quintet, quintuplet), Greek pente (source of pentagon, pentathlon), and Sanskrit pañca. The number five has been a stable concept across thousands of years of language history.