few
Americanadjective
-
fewer,
comparative
-
fewest
superlative
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
idioms
-
quite a few, a fairly large number; many.
There were quite a few interesting things to do.
-
few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent.
In Nevada the towns are few and far between.
determiner
-
-
a small number of; hardly any
few men are so cruel
-
( as pronoun; functioning as plural )
many are called but few are chosen
-
-
(preceded by a)
-
a small number of
a few drinks
-
( as pronoun; functioning as plural )
a few of you
-
-
informal several
-
-
at great intervals; widely spaced
-
not abundant; scarce
-
-
to consume several ( or too many) alcoholic drinks
-
informal several
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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”
Explanation
Few is a word for a small, non-specific number. A few is somewhere between a couple and a whole bunch. When you say you're going to have a few fries, you'd better not eat the whole order — a few is a tiny number. It takes more than a few people to play basketball, though they could probably play two-on-two. This is one of many words for amounts that aren't specific, like a bunch, a load, or a bit. If someone refers to the few, they're talking about an elite, special group, like "The few. The proud. The Marines."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Later, he rode into Athens Park, which was busy with children, and made a few circles as police closed in on him before speeding off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
She was due to take the ship's next sailing from Budapest a few days later and was worried.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
For this week’s Slate Plus bonus episode, Emily, John, and David answer a few more listener questions, just to tide you over until after a quick break.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
There are astonishingly few people around on Wall Street who remember the bubble of the mid-2000s, which was followed by the cataclysmic global financial crisis of 2007-09.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
It could appear out of nowhere and last a few seconds or a few minutes.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
"So fewer warnings, more actions penalised, and if there's any reduction in offences being penalised it should be a result of a modification of player behaviour rather than us no longer applying it."
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
In the U.S., drivers are making fewer trips to gas stations, analysts at Jefferies said in a recent note, with foot traffic down about 4% year over year, they said, citing proprietary data.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
But the demographic cliff is hitting just as another phenomenon is coming into play: a flight-to-quality, where the most sought-after schools are attracting an ever-growing number of applicants, while less-attractive schools draw fewer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
There are "ten times fewer" customers now, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Before 1911, only a few hundred people visited each day, and fewer in summer.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
But it was not just about attacking, their seven goals conceded was the fewest in the Premier League too.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Hiring picked up in first half of 2026, but last year saw the fewest new jobs created in any year in which the economy was not in recession.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
This compares to 704 the previous year and was the fewest since at least 2021.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
They have the highest on-base-plus-slugging percentage in the major leagues and have conceded the fewest runs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
"The least emotional of our party, then. The one who can most resist the cries of others. The one with fewest ties to flesh-and-blood things. That person should lead us."
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
