few

American  

[fyoo] / fyu /

adjective

fewer, fewest

1. not many but more than one.

   Few artists live luxuriously.

---

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) a small number or amount.

   Send me a few.

2. the few, a special, limited number; the minority.

   That music appeals to the few.

pronoun

1. (used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things.

   A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.

idioms

1. quite a few, a fairly large number; many.

   There were quite a few interesting things to do.

2. few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent.

   In Nevada the towns are few and far between.

few British  

/ fjuː /

determiner

1. 1. a small number of; hardly any

      few men are so cruel

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as plural )

      many are called but few are chosen

2. (preceded by a)

   1. a small number of

      a few drinks

   2. ( as pronoun; functioning as plural )

      a few of you

3. informal several

4. 1. at great intervals; widely spaced

   2. not abundant; scarce

5. to consume several ( or too many) alcoholic drinks

6. informal several

---

noun

1. a small number of people considered as a class Compare many

   the few who fell at Thermopylae

few More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing few

• a few
• bricks shy of a load, (a few)
• of few words
• precious few
• quite a bit (few)

---

Other Word Forms

• fewness noun
• overfew adjective

Etymology

Origin of few

First recorded before 900; Middle English fewe, Old English fēawe; cognate with Gothic fawai; akin to Latin paucus “few,” paulus “little,” pauper “poor,” Greek paûros “little, few”

Example Sentences

Backtrack a few years, though and he was head of Cargill’s refined oils trading operation in the Western hemisphere — with the additional responsibility of managing the company’s commodity business in Venezuela.

From MarketWatch

This year, the comedian is poised to run it back, almost certainly with a few more Chalamet digs.

From Los Angeles Times

Also he is a guy who’s been in the business for a few years now.

From Los Angeles Times

Newsom offered a few previews of select budget priorities, with his office set to unveil the full proposed budget on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times

BBC Sport also understands Britain is formulating bids to host multiple international cross-country championships over the next few years.

From BBC

Related Words

• several
• some