A held ball in the mid-court area occurs after (5) seconds, during which a closely guarded player dribbles and/or holds the ball without attempting to initiate any offense or advance the ball out of the mid-court area. The five (5) second count may include a combination of dribbling and holding the ball. Closely guarded is defined as an opposing player being within six (6) feet of the ball holder aggressively trying to secure possession. ** Thats the information I got from http://www.utep.edu/rsd/basketball.htm ** Basically, what they mean is that you can't hold the ball for more than five seconds when you are closely guarded.

For (most) high schools, it is similar to the situation described above, except when you transition from dribbling to holding and vice versa, the 5 second count resets. Thus, with hs rules, the longest you can have a ball is 12 seconds when closely guarded (4 seconds holding, 4 dribbling, 4 holding).

The 5-second rule also applies to inbounding the ball after a timeout, a made basket, or the ball is thrown out of bounds. The team throwing the ball in has 5 seconds to throw the ball, or possession is turned over to the opposing team.

There is also a 5 second back-to-the-basket rule

i thought it was how long food could stay on the ground & still be edible. sometimes stretched to the 10-second rule if you're really hungry! :)

I thought it was the dropping of food and still safe to eat it too. Ha Ha shows how when it comes to sports............

I thought the 5 second rule was when you drop food on the floor and if you pick it up before 5 seconds then it's still safe to eat it.

The five-second rule is a popular old wives' tale, in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and Japan, about eating food that has been dropped on the floor. The five second rule is sometimes called the three-second rule, seven-second rule, 10-second rule, or the 15-second rule, to some extent depending on locale or the quality of the food involved. For example, in American college dormitories the ten-second rule is often cited as the "drunk version" of the five-second rule. A common camp variation among young males is the 'get it before the bugs do' rule. Since bugs rarely charge after food, it is understood that it can sit there for a while. In some instances, if the initial 5 seconds is exceeded, an additional 5 seconds will be administered, and so forth and so on until the dropped food item is retrieved and eaten. b. a rule of etiquette regarding occupying a seat which someone else has vacated. The rule is used at parties or other busy gatherings where seating is in short supply. If someone leaves their seat to visit the toilet or get a drink then the five second rule gives them five seconds' grace before their seat is claimed by someone else. In some variations, a person vacating a seat may call "fives," giving them five minutes before the seat may be taken. If they have vacated the seat but forget to call fives, they are given five seconds to either invoke the rule or sit down again before the seat is considered able to be taken.

If I cannot make a woman feel good within 5 seconds of touching her or kissing her, I am out of the game! Off the ice! On the bench! :) Perhaps that's why I haven't had a woman friend in almost 4 years...

There's also a not-so-well-known Five Second Back to Basket rule. It is what it sounds like it is.