take five

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

6. amounting to five in number.

Idioms

7. take five, Informal. to take a brief respite.

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

5. 1. amounting to fivefive minutes; five nights
   2. (as pronoun)choose any five you like Related prefixes: penta-, quinque-

n.Old English fif, from Proto-Germanic *fimfe (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon fif, Dutch vijf, Old Norse fimm, Old High German funf, Gothic fimf), from PIE *penkwe- (cf. Sanskrit panca, Greek pente, Latin quinque, Old Church Slavonic peti, Lithuanian penke, Old Welsh pimp). The sound shift that removed the *-m- is a regular development involving Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon (cf. thought, from stem of think; couth from *kunthaz; us from *uns. Slang five-finger discount “theft” is from 1966. Five o’clock shadow attested by 1937. The original five-year plan was 1928 in the U.S.S.R. Relax, take some time off from what one is doing, as in We’ve been at it long enough; let’s take five. This term is short for “take five minutes off.” [Slang; first half of 1900s] For a synonym, see take a break. see take five.