few
[ fyoo ]
/ fyu /
adjective, few·er, few·est.
not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.
noun
(used with a plural verb) a small number or amount: Send me a few.
the few, a special, limited number; the minority: That music appeals to the few.
pronoun
(used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things: A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.
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Idioms for few
few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent: In Nevada the towns are few and far between.
quite a few, a fairly large number; many: There were quite a few interesting things to do.
Origin of few
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
OTHER WORDS FROM few
o·ver·few, adjectiveWords nearby few
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for few
British Dictionary definitions for few
few
/ (fjuː) /
determiner
noun
the few a small number of people considered as a classthe few who fell at Thermopylae Compare many (def. 4)
Derived forms of few
fewness, nounWord Origin for few
Old English fēawa; related to Old High German fao little, Old Norse fār little, silent
undefined few
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Idioms and Phrases with few
few
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.