few

1 of 3

pronoun

ˈfyü 

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

Synonyms of few

Noun

• handful
• couple

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

Adjective

Drum would share a few good memories of Heady before allowing the conversation to end. —Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 6 Dec. 2025

Heavily curated with art and books (or, in the case of Nair’s study, books about art), the apartment contains few current references to its new status as childhood home of a mayor; campaign postcards in an ornate fixture outside the front door are among the few reminders. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Dec. 2025

The sit-down with Kimmel comes just a few days after news of the Hannah Montana alum’s engagement came out, with the star modeling her gold ring at the premiere of the Avatar sequel earlier this week. —Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Dec. 2025

Recent detection data supports findings that a jaguar appears every few years, Malusa said, with movement often tied to the availability of water. —Susan Montoya Bryan, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Pronoun and Adjective

Middle English fewe, pronoun & adjective, from Old English fēawa; akin to Old High German fō 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

Phrases Containing few

• a few bob
• a good few
• as few as
• few if any
• have a few
• have a few minutes/moments
• have a few too many
• keeps a few tricks up his sleeve
• man/woman of few words
• of few words
• quite a few
• say a few words
• the/a chosen few

Rhymes for few

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

few

1 of 3 pronoun

ˈfyü 

: 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