few

The word “few” means a small number of; not many. In plain terms, a small, limited number of something.

“Few” is pronounced fyoo (/fjuː/ in IPA).

Here is “few” used in a sentence: “Only a few people showed up to the meeting.”

Words with a similar meaning to “few” include little.

The opposite of “few” — its antonyms — is many.

Depending on how it is used, “few” can be a det and a pronoun.

The word “few” comes from Old English. From Old English fēaw ("few"), from a Germanic and ultimately Proto-Indo-European root meaning "small, few.".

“Few” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

Although they look almost identical, the meaning shifts. 'A few' is positive and means 'some' — 'I have a few friends here' sounds reassuring. 'Few' alone is negative and stresses scarcity — 'I have few friends here' sounds lonely. The tiny word 'a' changes the whole tone of the sentence.

'Few' and its comparative 'fewer' are used with things you can count — fewer cars, fewer mistakes. 'Less' is used with things you cannot count individually — less traffic, less time. A quick test: if you could put a number in front of the noun, 'few' or 'fewer' is correct.

The main opposite is 'many', which describes a large number of countable things. 'Numerous', 'plenty', and 'a lot of' work similarly. Where 'few' emphasises scarcity, these words emphasise abundance, so 'few problems' becomes 'many problems' when the number is large.