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definitions

few

[fyoo]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR few 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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RELATED WORDS

several, some, petty, minority, less, scanty, slight, lean, middling, short, minute, scattering, minor, trifling, sprinkling, smattering, exiguous, imperceptible, inconsequential

Idioms

    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
Related formso·ver·few, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for few

Contemporary Examples of few

Historical Examples of few

  • Here we see but a few of the last links, and those imperfectly.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • They were both silent for a few moments; and Eudora's countenance was troubled.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • So small was it that to have gone a few feet to either side would have been to miss it.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Or, if I'd only got tied up in some way for a few weeks—something I could tide over.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • I can get along for a few hours, and then I'll have a doctor look at it.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

British Dictionary definitions for few

few

determiner

  1. a small number of; hardly anyfew men are so cruel
  2. (as pronoun; functioning as plural)many are called but few are chosen
(preceded by a)
  1. a small number ofa few drinks
  2. (as pronoun; functioning as plural)a few of you
a good few informal several
few and far between
  1. at great intervals; widely spaced
  2. 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 Formsfewness, noun

Word Origin for few

Old English fēawa; related to Old High German fao little, Old Norse fār little, silent

xref

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
Word Origin and History for few
adj.

Old English feawe (plural; contracted to fea) "few, seldom, even a little," from Proto-Germanic *faw-, from PIE root *pau- (1) "few, little" (cf. Latin paucus "few, little," paullus "little," parvus "little, small," pauper "poor;" Greek pauros "few, little," pais (genitive paidos) "child;" Latin puer "child, boy," pullus "young animal;" Oscan puklu "child;" Sanskrit potah "a young animal," putrah "son;" Old English fola "young horse;" Old Norse fylja "young female horse;" Old Church Slavonic puta "bird;" Lithuanian putytis "young animal, young bird"). Always plural in Old English.

Phrase few and far between attested from 1660s. Unusual ironic use in quite a few "many" (1883), earlier a good few (1828). The noun is late 12c., fewe, from the adjective.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. [Winston Churchill, 1940]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.