plural in construction
: not many persons or things
few were present
few of his stories are true
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
plural in construction
1
: a small number of units or individuals
a few of them
2
: a special limited number
the discriminating few
Synonyms
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
Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2024
It’s actually supposed to cool down over the next few days, which is just another one of those cruel tricks that the universe plays on everyone who lives here.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
Over the past few days, students from other schools set up their own protest encampment, largely in solidarity with the Columbia students who were arrested.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 22 Apr. 2024
Indeed, only nine Spit-Seconds are known to exist and very few are in great condition.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 22 Apr. 2024
In an attempt to cover too much historic and biographical ground, there are seemingly dozens of short scenes, some just a few lines long, so script feels unnecessarily choppy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
At a conference in Washington State a few years ago, just as Return Home was preparing to open, Truman was seated at a table with funeral directors.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2024
Those losses have accelerated in the last few decades, both because of climate change and land use changes.
—Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
Of that amount, more than 80 million shares were traded during the final few minutes of the session known as the closing auction.
—Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 10 Apr. 2024
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
Adjective
Sadly, my brother passed away quite suddenly a few years ago.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2024
It’s actually supposed to cool down over the next few days, which is just another one of those cruel tricks that the universe plays on everyone who lives here.
—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024
Over the past few days, students from other schools set up their own protest encampment, largely in solidarity with the Columbia students who were arrested.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 22 Apr. 2024
Indeed, only nine Spit-Seconds are known to exist and very few are in great condition.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 22 Apr. 2024
In an attempt to cover too much historic and biographical ground, there are seemingly dozens of short scenes, some just a few lines long, so script feels unnecessarily choppy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
At a conference in Washington State a few years ago, just as Return Home was preparing to open, Truman was seated at a table with funeral directors.
—David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2024
Those losses have accelerated in the last few decades, both because of climate change and land use changes.
—Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
Of that amount, more than 80 million shares were traded during the final few minutes of the session known as the closing auction.
—Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 10 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near few
Cite this Entry
“Few.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/few. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
few
1 of 3 pronoun
: not many persons or things
—used in plural
few were present
few
2 of 3 adjective1
: 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 noun1
: a small number of units or individuals
a few of them
2
: a special limited number
the select few
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