Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

five-second rule

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.76 in modern English

Syllables: five-sec-ond rule
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

3

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any rule that allows or prohibits certain behavior for five seconds after some event, especially:

Informal

noun

Any rule that allows or prohibits certain behavior for five seconds after some event, especially:

noun

Any rule that allows or prohibits certain behavior for five seconds after some event, especially:

Example Sentences

"Accompanied by six graphs, two tables and equations whose terms include “bologna” and “carpet,” it’s a thorough microbiological study of the five-second rule: the idea that if you pick up a dropped piece of food before you can count to five, it’s O.K. to eat it."
"UNFORTUNATELY, THE FIVE-SECOND RULE IS A MYTH."
"Here are five facts to remember for those who are tempted to apply the five-second rule."
"Often, people call out the five-second rule because they think that if you get food off the floor quickly enough, there won't be any germs on it."

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

five-second rules (plural)

Phrases

two-second rule three-second rule ten-second rule

Frequently Paired Words

two-second rule three-second rule ten-second rule

Questions

What does five-second rule mean?: Any rule that allows or prohibits certain behavior for five seconds after some event, especially:

How to pronounce five-second rule

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