This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
few
[ fyoo ]
/ fyu /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
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, adjectiveWords nearby few
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use few in a sentence
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
See less
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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.