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few

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few¹

  • /fjuː/
  • /fɪu̯/ Wales

Sounds like phew (phonemically) · Rhymes with -uː

Where it comes from

From Middle English fewe, from Old English fēaw (“few”), from Proto-West Germanic *fau, from Proto-Germanic *fawaz (“few”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”).

Cognate with Old Saxon fā (“few”), Old High German fao, fō (“few, little”), Old Norse fár (“few”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍃 (faus, “few”). Also related with Latin paucus (“little, few”) and pauper (“poor”), from which latter English poor and pauper; see these.

determiner fewer · less · fewest · least

  1. An indefinite, but usually small, number of. There are a few cars (=some, but a relatively small number) in the street.
  2. used alone Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of. Very few did she have not to go there, did she?
  3. of clouds Obscuring one to two oktas (eighths) of the sky. Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight.
  4. of rainfall with regard to a location (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.

Similar: little · Opposite: many

pronoun

  1. Few people, few things. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Opposite: many

Few²

Where it comes from

From a speech by Winston Churchill that included the phrase "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".

proper noun The Few

  1. UK The pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain.

Few³

proper noun

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: a few, hardly a, road, smail, low, mic, minute, gef, handheld, pocket, handle, bit, instalment, handful, marginal, lean

determiner

Similar: little · Opposite: many

pronoun

Opposite: many

Translations

Every language

det indefinite, usually small number

Españolpoco
한국어적다 jeokda, 조금 jogeum
日本語少し sukoshi
中文少 shǎo, 一些 yīxiē
हिन्दीकुछ kuch, अल्प alp, न्यून nyūn
Portuguêspoucos, poucas
Françaispeu
Deutschwenig
Italianopoco
Ελληνικάλίγοι, μερικοί merikoí
Românăcâțiva, ceva
Русскийнемно́гий nemnógij, ма́ло málo, не́сколько néskolʹko
Tiếng Việtít
العربيةقَلِيل qalīl
עבריתאֲחָדִים akhadím

det small number

Españolpocos, pocas
日本語わずか wazuka, 少数 shōsū
中文少 shǎo, 少數 /少数 shǎoshù
हिन्दीकम kam
Portuguêspoucos, poucas
Françaispeu
Italianopochi
Românăpuțini
Русскийма́ло málo
Tiếng Việtít
العربيةقَلِيل qalīl

det meteorology: obscuring 1–2 eighths of the sky

Françaispeu, quelques

pron few people, few things

Español[unos] pocos / cuantos
Françaispeu
العربيةقَلِيل qalīl

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"few." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/few. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

few. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/few

Chicago

"few." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/few.

BibTeX
@misc{few_2026,
  title = {few},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/few},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}