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View synonyms for

few

[ fyoo ]

adjective

fewer, fewest.
  1. not many but more than one:

    Few artists live luxuriously.



noun

  1. (used with a plural verb) a small number or amount:

    Send me a few.

  2. the few, a special, limited number; the minority:

    That music appeals to the few.

pronoun

  1. (used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things:

    A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.

few

/ ː /

determiner

    1. a small number of; hardly any

      few men are so cruel

    2. ( as pronoun; functioning as plural )

      many are called but few are chosen

  1. preceded by a
    1. a small number of

      a few drinks

    2. ( as pronoun; functioning as plural )

      a few of you

  2. a good few informal.
    several
  3. few and far between
    1. at great intervals; widely spaced
    2. not abundant; scarce
  4. have a few or have a few too many
    to consume several ( or too many) alcoholic drinks
  5. not a few or quite a few informal.
    several
“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

noun

  1. the few
    a small number of people considered as a class Compare many

    the few who fell at Thermopylae

“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
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Usage

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Derived Forms

  • ˈڱɲԱ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • v·ڱ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of few1

First recorded before 900; Middle English fewe, Old English ŧɱ; cognate with Gothic fawai; akin to Latin paucus “f,” paulus “lٳٱ,” pauper ‼Ǵǰ,” Greek 貹ûDz “little, few”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of few1

Old English ŧɲ ; related to Old High German fao little, Old Norse little, silent
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent:

    In Nevada the towns are few and far between.

  2. quite a few, a fairly large number; many:

    There were quite a few interesting things to do.

More idioms and phrases containing few

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

Examples have not been reviewed.

The next few days will give us a sense of how or whether, albeit up to four years out from choosing the next government, that is a plausible claim.

From

"In my spare time, I make candles and luckily I had a few going spare so I could see in the dark."

From

“Two days does not establish a pattern or practice,” she said, suggesting that it was the actions of a few agents.

From

Sian McEvoy, 41, spends a few days a week volunteering at a community farm near her home in Swansea, which provides opportunities for adults and young people who face mental health challenges.

From

While a few of the bases date back to the 1990s, 89% have been constructed since 2018, after which Turkey began significantly expanding its military presence in Iraqi Kurdistan.

From

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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.

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feverwortfew and far between