fives
fives Lexical Profile
fives Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Plural form of five: multiple instances of the number five, or items (such as playing cards, banknotes, or dice rolls) bearing a value of five.
"The cashier handed him his change in fives and singles because the register was out of twenty-dollar bills."
British A family of traditional British court games in which two or four players strike a small hard ball against the walls of an enclosed court using their gloved or bare hands.
"During his years at boarding school, he spent most winter afternoons playing fives in the stone courtyard."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the traditional British court game, 'fives' takes a singular verb despite its plural form.
• Rhymes for fives
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'fīf', from Proto-Germanic '*fimf'. As the name of a court game (attested from the 17th century), it likely refers to the five fingers of the hand used to strike the ball.