five to
Almost the hour
Five to indicates a time five minutes before a specified hour: It's five to eight means 7:55.
The phrase works with any hour and follows the British pattern of expressing time as minutes "to" the hour rather than the American preference for "of" or stating the exact time.
- clockDevice displaying time
- hourSixty-minute span
- secondUnit smaller than minute
- tick tockAlternating clock sounds
- on the dotAt the exact time
time · minute · almost · verge · any moment now · nearly · just about · hand · threshold · countdown · stroke of midnight · impending · eleventh hour · last minute · looming · watch · brink · upcoming