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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.

A video of the early-morning, post-crash scene, obtained by TMZ, showed Arenas lying face down in the street in a few inches of water while the broken hydrant sprayed water into the air.

From

In the past few years that search has been fruitless.

From

Asked again for his thoughts a few days later, Mr Spindel wrote back just two words in reply: "Damage done."

From

Every so often they shuffled a few inches forward, following the queue for Pope Francis's lying in state.

From

When you look at it that way, it's very hard to see how any American can support this president and his administration but apparently quite a few do.

From

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Related Words

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