few

1. 1
   a small numberdeterminer

   An indefinite but usually small number of, used after another determiner such as a or the.

   A few passengers were still waiting at the gate.

   The few remaining tickets sold out within minutes.

   UsageA few means some, a positive sense; few alone means not many. Quite a few means quite a lot.

   Similarseveral, some

   Oppositemany

2. 2
   not manydeterminer

   Not many; a small and somewhat indefinite number of, often set against a larger number that is stated or implied.

   Few candidates met all the requirements for the position.

   The drought meant that few crops survived the long summer.

   UsageUse with plural nouns: few friends, but little money. Compare fewer people with less time.

   Oppositemany

   Note

   Used bare, the word turns attention to scarcity, and very few pushes it toward almost none. Marlowe could set it after a noun as a predicate, "their number few." Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Marlowe used the exact phrase “their number few” predicatively; Basso speaks it in Tamburlaine the Great, Part I, Act III, scene iii. gutenberg.org
3. 3
   pronoun

   A small number of people or things; not many.

   Of all who applied, few were chosen for the program.

   Few would argue with such a sensible arrangement.

   UsageTakes a plural verb: few were chosen. Name the group with of: few of us.

   Oppositemany

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