- (usually a few)used with plural nouns and a plural verb to mean ‘a small number’, ‘some’
- We've had a few replies.
- I need a few things from the store.
- Quite a few people are going to arrive early.
- I try to visit my parents every few weeks.
- used with plural nouns and a plural verb to mean ‘not many’
- Few people understand the difference.
- There seem to be fewer tourists around this year.
- Very few students learn Latin now.
- The player with the fewest points wins.
Word OriginOld English fēawe, fēawa, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German fao, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin paucus and Greek pauros ‘small’.
Idioms
See few in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee few in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishfew and far between
- not happening often
Check pronunciation:
few