few

American  

[fyoo] / fyu /

adjective

fewer, fewest

1. not many but more than one.

   Few artists live luxuriously.

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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

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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)

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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

A few years later, the airline lost money trying to protect itself against oil price swings using financial instruments.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

The head coach and his staff will need no reminding they need to make that time count in what feels like a defining few months on Tyneside.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

Iran continued to “gatekeep” the waterway, allowing just a few vessels through in the early hours following the agreement.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

And even if the Dyhrenfurth expedition was successful, only a chosen few of its 19 team members would reach the top.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

The few who had read his paper had laughed.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• several
• some