several
Americanadjective
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being more than two but fewer than many in number or kind.
several ways of doing it.
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They went their several ways.
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several occasions.
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Archaic. single; particular.
an examination of each several case.
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Law. binding two or more persons who may be sued separately on a common obligation.
pronoun
determiner
adjective
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(prenominal) various; separate
the members with their several occupations
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(prenominal) distinct; different
three several times
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law capable of being dealt with separately; not shared Compare joint
Etymology
Origin of several
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin sēparālis, equivalent to Latin sēpar “separate” + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Two is a "couple" and more than two or three is several. If you eat four donuts you can say you had several but you may have had too many — especially if you get a stomach-ache. Several is a word that shows size or number when you can’t be specific or when you want to summarize. If three, four, or five of you hang out, then you're spending time with several friends. Inviting 30 people over and telling your parents that several friends stopped by would be stretching the truth and you might get grounded. For how many weeks? Possibly several.
Vocabulary lists containing several
Vocabulary from the Constitution of the United States
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"The American Crisis," Vocabulary from 11-A Supernumerary Crisis
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"A Book of Nonsense"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To interrupt this process, Quitterer and her colleagues created several chemical compounds and tested them in cell cultures and mice.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
And as landslides sever access roads and supplies dwindle in several parts of the island, there are growing concerns about how much longer survivors can hold out.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
In the hardest-hit cities, several buildings were marked with a red "X" to warn of the risk of collapse and prohibit pedestrian access.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
America’s blue-chip tech companies are placing these huge bets based on assumptions about what the demand for AI computing—and availability of AI hardware—will be in several years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
I took several deep breaths and clenched my hands to stem their trembling.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
