few

(fyū)
adj., few·er, few·est.

1. Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits.
2. Being more than one but indefinitely small in number: bowled a few strings.

n. (used with a pl. verb)

1. An indefinitely small number of persons or things: A few of the books have torn jackets.
2. An exclusive or limited number: the discerning few; the fortunate few.

pron. (used with a pl. verb)
A small number of persons or things: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).

[Middle English fewe, from Old English fēawe.]

fewness few'ness n.

USAGE NOTE   The traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted (fewer than four players), while less should be used with mass terms for things of measurable extent (less paper; less than a gallon of paint). However, less is used in some constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were being followed. Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance: less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nouns in the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter) and or less (as in Give your reasons in 25 words or less).

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As a general guide, fewer is used with plural nouns (fewer books, fewer people) and indicates number, whereas less is used with singular nouns and indicates amount (less money / less happiness). However, there is an extensive no man's land between these two positions. To begin with, less can be used idiomatically with than followed by plural nouns when these denote something closer to an amount than a numerical quantity, as with distances, periods of time, ages, and sums of money: less than 5 miles to go / less than six weeks / children less than three years old / less than £100. Supermarket checkouts are correct when the signs they display read 5 items or less (which refers to a total amount), and are misguidedly pedantic when they read 5 items or fewer (which emphasizes individuality, surely not the intention). Examiners often invite candidates to write a summary of a passage of prose in fifty words or less. In some borderline cases it is more idiomatic to use less when fewer would put an unwelcome emphasis on the numerical quantity rather than the cumulative effect of the total:...

unashamedly rejoiced in having had in his house at one time no less than five Nobel Prize Winners—Margaret Drabble, 1987.

But less should be avoided when it comes before an otherwise unqualified plural noun:

☒ I shall care about less things—Penelope Fitzgerald, 1980

☒There is not enough money being spent on rehabilitation and, if we spend more, we could save a lot of money with less people reoffending—Bury Free Press, 2007.

See also less ³.

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Idioms beginning with few:
few bricks shy of a load
few and far between

See also a few; bricks shy of a load, (a few); of few words; precious few; quite a bit (few).

adj

Definition: hardly any
Antonyms: many, much

pron

Definition: scarcely any
Antonyms: many, much

IN BRIEF: Not many.

Few wishes come true by themselves. — June Smith.

Tutor's tip: She exclaimed "phew" (exclamation of relief) when she saw the earthquake damaged "few" (a small number) of her crystal wine goblets.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: The S-hand opens exposing three fingers.

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As it relates to cloud amounts, it means 1 or 2 octas of clouds (i.e., 1/8 or 2/8 of sky is covered with clouds).



Few.

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For a list of words related to few, see:

• Limitations and Conditions

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See words rhyming with "few."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Few.

Dansk (Danish)
det. - få
pron. - få
adj. - få
n. - nogle enkelte, et par

idioms:

• few and far between    være langt imellem
• have a few too many    få en tår over tørsten

Nederlands (Dutch)
weinig, een paar

Français (French)
det. - peu de
pron. - peu de, peu, quelques, quelques-uns/quelques-unes
adj. - peu de
n. - minorité, élite, rares personnes

idioms:

• few and far between    rarissime
• have a few too many    avoir bu un coup de trop, être bien parti

Deutsch (German)
adj. - wenig
n. - Wenige
pron. - wenig
det. - wenig

idioms:

• few and far between    selten
• have a few too many    betrunken werden

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - λίγοι, ολιγάριθμοι, μερικοί, ελάχιστοι
n. - ελάχιστοι, (οι) (εκλεκτοί) ολίγοι
pron. - ελάχιστοι, λίγοι

idioms:

• few and far between    ελάχιστοι
• have a few too many    πίνω κάτι παραπάνω

Italiano (Italian)
poco, un po', pochi

idioms:

• few and far between    scarso
• have a few too many    averne di troppo

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - pouco
n. - os poucos (m pl)
pron. - pouco(s)

idioms:

• few and far between    raro
• have a few too many    beber muito

Русский (Russian)
немногие, почти никто, мало, несколько, немногочисленные

idioms:

• few and far between    редкие
• have a few too many    нализаться

Español (Spanish)
det. - poco, algunos
pron. - algunos, unos cuantos, pocos
adj. - algunos, unos cuantos, pocos
n. - algunos, unos cuantos, pocos

idioms:

• few and far between    escaso, raro, contadísimo
• have a few too many    haber bebido unas copas de más

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - bara få
n. - fåtal
pron. - bara få

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
很少的, 少数的, 不多的, 很少数, 一些, 几个, 几乎没有

idioms:

• few and far between    稀少
• have a few too many    喝醉酒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
det. - 很少的, 少數的, 不多的
pron. - 很少數, 一些, 幾個, 幾乎沒有
adj. - 很少的, 少數的, 不多的
n. - 很少數, 幾乎沒有

idioms:

• few and far between    稀少
• have a few too many    喝醉酒

한국어 (Korean)
det. - 소수의
pron. - 소수, 소수의 사람
adj. - 소수의, 조금 있는
n. - 작은 숫자

idioms:

• have a few too many    ~을 너무 많이 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - ほとんどない, 少数の
pron. - 少数の人, 少数の人々

idioms:

• chosen few    厳選されたまれな
• few and far between    きわめてまれな
• have a few too many    ちょっと飲んで酔っ払う
• of few words    口数の少ない, はずかしがりや

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) قليل (الاسم) قله (ضمير) بعض , عدد قليل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
det. - ‮מעט‬
pron. - ‮כמה‬
adj. - ‮מעט‬
n. - ‮מעטים, מיעוט, נבחרים‬

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