few

[ fyoo ]

/ fyu /

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See synonyms for: few / fewer / fewest / fews on Thesaurus.com

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 about 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, adjective

Words nearby few

fever therapy, fever tree, fever twig, feverweed, feverwort, few, few and far between, few bricks shy of a load, fewer, fewness, few words

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use few in a sentence

A few days later, Bush replied, “We will uphold the law in Florida.”
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Like many Americans—but few Republican presidential candidates—the former Florida governor has evolved on the issue.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sputtering, I manage a few “hut-hut-huts” with the other students.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We do see that a few European countries have them on the books: Germany, Poland, Italy, Ireland, a couple more.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

So it might be me projecting my desires onto Archer to want to just get away from work for a few weeks.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And she would be wearing some of the jewels with the white dress—just a few, not many, of course.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
But I hope at least to play to him a few times, and what is more important, to hear him play repeatedly.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
So after a few minutes I remarked to him, "Everything tastes very sweet out of this spoon!"
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Drowned every few seconds by our tremendous salvoes, this more nervous noise crept back insistently into our ears in the interval.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Few people, I think, realize that, and fewer still realize the reasonable consequences of that.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for few

few

/ (fjuː) /

determiner

a small number of; hardly anyfew men are so cruel
(as pronoun; functioning as plural)many are called but few are chosen

(preceded by a)

a small number ofa few drinks
(as pronoun; functioning as plural)a few of you

a good few informal several

few and far between

at great intervals; widely spaced
not abundant; scarce

have a few or have a few too many to consume several (or too many) alcoholic drinks

not a few or quite a few informal several

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, noun

Word 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with few

few

In addition to the idioms beginning with few

few and far between
few bricks shy of a load
few words

also see:

a few
bricks shy of a load, (a few)
of few words
precious few
quite a bit (few)