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. Noun a few of the songs on the album are good, but most are forgettable
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
In the second quarter, Dunbar’s offense found some life with a stellar play from quarterback Marcus McDade, who faked a handoff and raced 47 yards for a touchdown while making a few defenders miss tackles. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Oct. 2025 The midfielder received the ball on the left from Lautaro after a few Venezuela rebounds in the area and slotted it into the near post. Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2025 There are only a few that would make sense. Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Oct. 2025 Bendicksen, the center’s director of wildlife rehabilitation, decided to attempt something few would consider, a wing transplant. Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for few

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Few.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/few. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

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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