Five-foot cretic is a metrical line containing five cretic feet, each following the long-short-long pattern in quantitative verse or stressed-unstressed-stressed in accentual-syllabic prosody. This creates a fifteen-syllable line with highly regular, rolling rhythm. The term "five-foot cretic" emphasizes the classical metrical terminology, relating the pattern to Greek and Latin prosody where the cretic foot originated. While theoretically possible, such lines are exceptionally rare in English poetry due to the difficulty of maintaining five consecutive cretic feet naturally within English stress patterns. When attempted, the line produces a formal, ceremonial effect through its symmetrical structure and wavelike repetition.

Five-foot cretic uses five cretic (long-short-long) feet per line—creates a stately, processional rhythm, though rare in English verse.