a few

Idioms  

1. A small number of persons or things. This phrase can differ slightly from few used alone, which means “not many.” For example, The party was to end at eight, but a few stayed on indicates that a small number of guests remained, whereas The party began at eight, and few attended means that hardly any guests came. [Late 1200s] Also see quite a bit (few).

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

a few

Apparently, that economics class has a few empty seats of its own.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Now that they have been living in a higher-rate world for a few years, an increase won’t be as painful.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

All of that began to change a few weeks ago.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

And then she remembered a few throwaway lines from a comedy series about a matchmaking festival in Ireland.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“Yeah, I saw a few of them,” she says.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Related Words

• individual
• numerous
• particular
• precise
• special
• specific
• specified
• various