DEFINITIONS
The
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fewer

[ fyoo-er ]
/ ˈfyu ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fewer ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of a smaller number: fewer words and more action.

pronoun

(used with a plural verb) a smaller number: Fewer have come than we hoped.

Content related to fewer

Fewer vs. LessMisuse of the terms fewer and less will set off alarms in the heads of many language enthusiasts. According to usage rules, fewer is only to be used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular mass nouns. For example, you can have fewer ingredients, dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt, money, honesty, or love. If you can count it, go for …
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9 Common Grammatical PitfallsIrregardless is considered nonstandard because of the two negative elements, ir- and -less.
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Words related to fewer

petty, minority, less, scanty, slight, lean, middling, short, minute, scattering, minor, trifling, exiguous, imperceptible, inconsequential, infrequent, insufficient, meager, negligible, occasional

Words nearby fewer

feverwort, few, few and far between, few bricks shy of a load, few words, fewer, fewness, fey, feydeau, feynman, feynman diagram

Origin of fewer

Middle English fewere, Old English *fēawran. See few, -er4

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fewer

fewer less (see usage note at less)

usage note for fewer

See less.

Definition for fewer (2 of 2)

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.

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fewer

British Dictionary definitions for fewer

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, noun

Word 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

Idioms and Phrases with fewer

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.