few

1 of 3

pronoun

plural in construction
: not many persons or things
few were present
few of his stories are true

few

2 of 3

adjective

1
: consisting of or amounting to only a small number
one of our few pleasures
2
: at least some but indeterminately small in number
used with a
caught a few fish
fewness noun

few

3 of 3

noun

plural in construction
1
: a small number of units or individuals
a few of them
2
: a special limited number
the discriminating few
Phrases
few and far between
: few in number and infrequently met : rare

Examples of few in a Sentence

Adjective He caught fewer fish than the rest of us. There are fewer children at the school this year. Not many people came, but the few people who did enjoyed themselves.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
He was arrested a few blocks away, hiding in a nearby residential neighborhood, according to Coto. Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 The project started small, with tests distributed at a few New Year’s Eve parties. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 And certainly a large majority lived there for at least a few years. Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 17 Mar. 2024 Here, The Gutter requires a few dramatic turns that the performers struggle to land. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2024 Wind chills may hover nearly 10 degrees lower than the high temperatures, which are expected to be within a few degrees of 50. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024 Each of these accolades are incredible achievements that only a few students may achieve one or two. Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024 But the 39-year-old Georgia native is one of the few Nashville stars willing to buck trends. Journal Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2024 The few new buildings that are being built, including the athletes’ housing, as well as a swimming complex and an arena, are using less cement and more wood. Catherine Porter, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Noun
The combo pairs late-season heli-skiing with fishing for king salmon, an impressive Alaska double few can claim to have pulled off. Mike Campbell, Anchorage Daily News, 28 May 2020 Only a small portion of COVID-19 patients get sick enough to require ventilation—but for the unlucky few who do, data out of China and New York City suggest upward of 80% do not recover. Jamie Ducharme, Time, 16 Apr. 2020 According to the Pew Research Center, more than 70 percent of Polish citizens held a favorable few of the E.U. last year, compared to 48 percent in the United Kingdom. Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2019 Until Kansas City’s famed stockyards closed down in 1991, the city was pretty much wall-to-wall cows and pigs, few of whom were housebroken. Scott Ostler, SFChronicle.com, 22 Jan. 2020 In 2015, when the party came to power, migrants — few of whom were actually trying to enter Poland — were made targets. Marc Santora, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2019 But while most interior design professionals are familiar with the concept of biophilic design, many only recognize a limited few of the countless ways it can be implemented. Michelle Beganskas, Quartz, 3 Dec. 2019 This information did not leak until 2009 and there were few who allowed it to tarnish memories of the Sox’ magical championships of 2004 and 2007. BostonGlobe.com, 16 Nov. 2019 There were few of the latter, sung by Moctar, second guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane and, occasionally, bassist-producer Michael Coltun. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'few.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun and Adjective

Middle English fewe, pronoun & adjective, from Old English fēawa; akin to Old High German little, Latin paucus little, pauper poor, Greek paid-, pais child, Sanskrit putra son

First Known Use

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of few was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near few

Cite this Entry

“Few.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/few. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

few

1 of 3 pronoun
: not many persons or things
used in plural
few were present

few

2 of 3 adjective
1
: amounting to only a small number
one of the few sports I play
2
: not many but some
caught a few fish
fewness noun

few

3 of 3 noun
1
: a small number of units or individuals
a few of them
2
: a special limited number
the select few

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