fewer

American  

[fyoo-er] / ˈfyu ər /

adjective

1. of a smaller number.

   fewer words and more action.

---

pronoun

1. (used with a plural verb) a smaller number.

   Fewer have come than we hoped.

Commonly Confused

See less.

Etymology

Origin of fewer

Middle English feue, feawe. fewe fewere, Old English fēawera, genitive plural of fēawa few; -er ⁴ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Both groups experienced some benefits from eating fewer calories.

From Science Daily

Experts say adding the varicella vaccine to the official NHS childhood immunisation programme will dramatically reduce the number of people who catch chickenpox, leading to far fewer serious cases.

From BBC

Some traders prefer to target AI debt because fewer individual investors play in that market, helping shield it against meme-stock-like surges that would squeeze bearish positions.

From The Wall Street Journal

The tournament kicks off on Sunday and Japan are among the favourites, with a talented squad featuring no fewer than 16 England-based players and a reputation for fast, exciting football.

From Barron's

Seat deflation, a potential result of AI models performing tasks now handled by traditional software, refers to the idea that there could be fewer users of software as a service.

From Barron's