Meaning of Frightful Five | Babel Free

Definitions

The five largest technology companies in the world: Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (owner of Google), Facebook (or its parent company Meta) and Microsoft.

informal

Examples

“The companies I call the Frightful Five — Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet, Google’s parent company — have experienced astounding growth over the last few years, making them the world’s five most valuable public companies.”

“Both factors freeze out other entrants, limit the number of insiders to one or two, and reduce many outsiders to irrelevance, if they survive at all. Lest anyone doubt the importance of rapid scaling and network effects, the Frightful Five benefit(ed) from these factors.”

“The major asset of technology's "Frightful Five"- Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple - lies in their ability to synergize user databases with third party commerce (MIT Sloan 2017; Manjoo 2017).”

“Imagine that an "evil, tech-phobic monarch" forced everyone to stop using products and services from the major technology companies: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Alphabet (the parent company of Google), a.k.a. the "Frightful Five."”

“Overall, the Frightful Five are healthier than ever.”

CEFR level