as few as

idiom

used to suggest that a number or amount is surprisingly small
The procedure is recommended by as few as one out of five doctors.
As few as half the students passed the test.

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The women in the study used an average of 17 different products a day — as few as 5 and as many as 43. Ronnie Cohen, NPR, 8 May 2025 An additional 8,000 would die from the resulting tsunami that could rise up to 80 feet and offer coastal areas as few as 10 minutes of warning. Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025 Unlike the fruit-eating blue pigeons, which pass seeds in as few as 15 minutes, tortoises take three weeks or more to process food and are long-distance walkers. Kevin Gepford, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2025 Texas, where a $1.4 billion tourism windfall had been expected from a million visitors, hosted as few as 270,000 visitors as storms moved in, while New Hampshire, where as few as 450 eclipse-chasers were expected, saw 170,00 extra vehicles make the journey. Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for as few as

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“As few as.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20few%20as. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

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