Few

/fjuː/ · determiner

Meaning

(preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of..

Definitions by Sense

1. (preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.
2. (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.
3. (meteorology, of clouds) Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky.
4. (meteorology, of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.
5. Few people, few things.

Example Sentences

There are a few cars (=some, but a relatively small number) in the street.

Quite a few people (=a significant number) were pleasantly surprised.

I think he's had a few drinks.

The few cheapest hotels I could find are the farthest too.

No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.

Very few did she have not to go there, did she?

I was expecting a big crowd at the party, but very few people (=almost none) turned up.

Your men are valiant but their number few, And cannot terrifie his mightie hoſt, […]

Synonyms for few

Antonyms for few

Related Words

Word Forms

• fewer
• less
• fewest
• least

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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