Few - definition of few by The Free Dictionary /few
few Also found in: , , , , , , .
(fyo͞o)adj. few·er, few·est 1.
Amounting to or consisting of a small number: one of my few bad habits. See Usage Note at .2.
Being more than one but indefinitely small in number: bowled a few strings.n. (used with a pl. verb)1.
An indefinitely small number of persons or things: A few of the books have torn jackets.2.
An exclusive or limited number:
the fortunate few.pron. (used with a pl. verb) A small number of persons or things: "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).[Middle English fewe, from Old English fēawe; see
pau-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]few′ness n.few (fju:) determiner1. a.
hardly any: few men are so cruel. b. ( functioning as plural): many are called but few are chosen. 2.
(preceded by a) a. a small number of: a few drinks. b. ( functioning as plural): a few of you. 3. a good few informal several4. few and far between a.
widely spacedb.
scarce5. have a few have a few too many to consume several (or too many) alcoholic drinks6. not a few quite a few informal severalnthe few a small number of people considered as a class: the few who fell at Thermopylae. Compare 4[Old English fēawa; related to Old High German fao little, Old Norse fār little, silent] 'fewness nUsage: See at few
-er, -est,
not many but more than one:
Few artists live luxuriously.
(used with a pl. v.) a small number or amount:
Send me a few.
the few, a special, the minority:
music that appeals to the few.
(used with a pl. v.) a small number of persons or things.
few and far between, placed at widely not plentiful.
quite a few, a many.
[before 900; Middle English fewe, fē Old English fē c. Old Saxon faho, fā little, Old High German fao, fō, Old Norse fārs, Gothic fawai few]
few′ness, n.
few – 1. used in front of nounsFew and
are both used in front of nouns, but they do not have the same meaning. You use
simply to show that you are talking about a small number of people or things.I'm having a dinner party for a few close friends.Here are a few ideas that might help you.When you use few without 'a', you are emphasizing that there are only a small number of people or things of a particular kind. So, for example, if you say 'I have
friends', you are simply saying that you have some friends. However, if you say 'I have few friends', you are saying that you do not have enough friends and are lonely.There were few resources available.2. used as pronounsFew and
can be used in a similar way as pronouns.Doctors work an average of 90 hours a week, while a few work up to 120 hours.Many were invited but few came.3. 'not many'In conversation and in less formal writing, people don't usually use few without 'a'. Instead they use not many. For example, instead of saying 'I have few friends', people usually say 'I haven't got many friends' or 'I don't have many friends'.They haven't got many books.I don't have many visitors.Be Careful!Don't use 'few' or 'a few' when you are talking about a small amount of something. Don't say, for example, 'Would you like a few more milk in your tea?' You say 'Would you like a little more milk in your tea?'See
Switch to Noun1.few - "it was designed for the discriminating few",
- a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic statusAdj.1.few - a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small b "a few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons than usual"; "an invalid's pleasures are few and far between"; "few roses were still blooming"; "few women have led troops in battle" - (comparative of `few' used with count nouns) quantifier meaning "fewer birds came this year"; "the birds are fewer this year"; "fewer trains were late" - used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecifie "have some milk"; "some roses were still blooming"; "having some friends over"; "some apples"; "some paper" - a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `as' or `too' or `so' or `that'; amounting to a large b "many temptations"; "the temptations are many"; "a good many"; "a great many"; "many directions"; "take as many apples as you like"; "too many clouds to see"; "never saw so many people"fewdeterminer1. not many, , hardly any, scarcely any, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
In some districts there are few survivors. not many ,
(archaic), , , , , , , pronoun1. a small number, , a sprinkling, a scattering, , scarcely any A strict diet is appropriate for only a few.few and far between , , , , , , , hard to come by, , , widely spaced, seldom met with Successful women politicians were few and far between.
?????pocmáloněkolikpárf?ikke ret mangemalmultav?heharvamuutamav?h?nmalomalobrojannekolicinakevéssedikitfáir少しの少数?????labai nedaugma?ainedaugbie?ievery few minutesmaznedaudzpoucasnekajf??????????????az say?daítm?t vàifew [fjuː] ADJ & PRON (fewer (compar) (fewest (superl)))1. (= not many) → pocos/asfew books → pocos few of them → pocos (de ellos)only a few →
only a few of them came →
ther we are very few → somos
pocosfew (people) managed to do it →
hacerlothe few who → los pocos que ...she is one of the few (people) who → ella es una
pocos que ...such men are few → hay pocos
asías few as three of them → nada
tresevery few weeks → cada dos o tres with few exceptions → con pocas they are few and far between → son the lucky few →
or unos cuantos in or over the next few days → en or durante los
, en estos
(LAm)in or over the past few days → en or durante los
the last or remaining few minutes → el poco
que /too few → demasiado pocosthere were three too few →
tres2. (= some, several) a few → algunosa good few quite a few → bastantesa good few or quite a few (people) came →
bastantes,
bastante he'd had a few (drinks) →
a few more → algunos (in) a few more days →
a few of them → algunos quite a fewsee a good fewfew [ˈfjuː] adj (not many) → few books →
as few as → as few as two or three →
few in numberThey were few in number → Ils étaient peu (nombreux)., Il y en avait peu.to be few and far between → être They are few and far between → Ils sont .very few (+ noun) →
very few people →
only a few (+ noun) →
only a few hours →
(= some) a few → a few hours →
in the next few days →
qui in the past few days → ces
every few days →
every few months →
a few more ... →
... We waited a few more days → Nous avons attendu
., Nous avons attendu
de plus.There were a few more of us at the second meeting → Nous étions
deuxième .quite a few ..., a good few ... →
de ...quite a few people →
de not a few ... → bien des ...every few →
every few minutes →
pron (not many) → peuFew succeed → Il y en a peu qui ., (Bien) peu .very few → Very few survive →
.only a few →
(quelques-unes)"How many?" - "Only a few." → "?" - " ."A strict diet is appropriate for only a few → Un
. (= some) a few → quelques-uns(quelques-unes)"How many apples do you want?" - "A few." → "Tu veux
?" - "."I know a few → J'en
.a few of →
des(quelques-unes)a few of the teachers →
des a few of us →
d'entre nous(quelques-unes)a few of them →
d'entre eux(quelques-unes)a few more ... →
... I'd like a few more → J'en voudrais
de plus.(quelques-unes)quite a few, a good few → un bon "How many?" - "Quite a few." → "?" - "Un bon ."not a few (= people) →
de he's had a few, he's had a few too many (= a lot to drink) → il a
bufew adj (+er) (= not many) → wenige; few people come to see him → nur wenige
ihn; with few exceptions → mit wenigen ; we are very few → wir sind nur sehr wenige or nur ein
; few and far between →
; as few as ten cigarettes a day can be harmful → schon or
sein; as few as six objections →
als sechs ; how few they are! → wie wenige das sind!; so few books → so wenige ; too few cakes → zu wenige ; there were 3 too few → es waren 3 zu wenig da; 10 would not be too few → 10 w?ren
zu wenig; he is one of the few people who … → er ist einer der wenigen, die …; the exceptions are few → es
nur wenige ; such occasions are few → solche
a few → ein ; a very few → nur
wenige; a few more days →
; a few times → ein
; there were quite a few waiting →
viele ; he has quite a few girlfriends → er hat eine
viele ; he’s had a few (too many) → er hat einen über den
; quite a few books →
viele , eine
; I saw a good few or quite a few people → ich habe
; not a few people →
wenige ; we’ll go in a few minutes → wir
; in the next/past few days →
; every few days → alle
pron (= not many) → wenige; few of them came → wenige von ihnen ; some few →
so wenige; the Few Kampfflieger, die an der Luftschlacht um England im zweiten Weltkrieg teilnahmen; the lucky few → die wenigen ; opera used to be an experience for the few →
; as few as you →
wenig wie du; how few there are! → wie wenige das sind!; however few there may be → wie wenig auch
da ist; I’ve got so/too few as it is → ich habe
schon so/zu wenig(e); so few have been sold → so wenige sind bis
; there are too few of you → ihr seid zu wenige a few → ein ; I’ll just take a few → ich
nur ein ; a few more → ein
; quite a few → eine
; quite a few did not believe him → eine
ihm ; some few → einige; there are always the few who … → es
einige wenige
, die …; the few who knew him → die wenigen, die ihn few [fjuː] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl))) prona. (not many) → pochi/efew books → pochi few of them → pochi di lorofew (people) managed to do it → pochi
a farlofew succeed → pochi ci she is one of the few (people) who ... → è una delle poche
che...the few who ... → i pochi che...in or over the past few days → in questi
in or over the next few days → nei
every few days/months → ogni due o tre /with few exceptions → con or salvo poche every few weeks →
di qualche they are few and far between → sono there are very few of us or we are very few → siamo pochithe last or remaining few minutes → i pochi
che as few as three of them → solo tre di lorotoo few → troppo pochithere were three too few → ne
treb. (some, several) a few → alcuni/e, qualchea few books → alcuni , qualche I know a few → ne
alcunia few of them → alcuni di loroa few more days → qualche altro in a few more days → fra qualche a good few or quite a few → parecchia good few or quite a few books → parecchi ,
di a good few or quite a few (people) came → parecchie
sono few (fju:)
adjective, pronoun a very small number of. Few peop every few minutes (= very frequently); Such opportunities are few. weinig
няколко
málo, pár
f?; ikke ret mange , ελ?χιστοι
m?ni, v?hesed
malo njih, nekoliko
tidak banyak
ほとんどない
nedaug, ma?ai
tidak banyak
f?, s?llsynta
??????, ????????
мало, небагато
?? ? ????? ??
kh?ng nhi?u; ít a few a small number (emphasizing that there are indeed some). There are a few books in this l We have only a few left. ' enkele
малко
uns poucos
několik (málo), trochu
??????? ??? ??
quelques (-un(e)s)
néhány, nem sok
uns poucos
c??iva, c?teva
nieko?ko, pár
n?gra stycken, n?gra f?
дек?лька
m?t vài; m?t ít few and far between very few. Interesting jobs are few and far between. dun gesaai
????? ?????
рядкост
poucos e raros
jen tu a tam, ojediněle
sehr vereinzelt
f?; sjaelden
ελ?χιστοι
poquísimos, contadísimos, muy escasos
olla harvassa
???-????, ??????
rijetko koji, poneki
sedikit sekali
?rfá sjaldgaefur
ごくまれな
labai nedaug
sangat sedikit
langt mellom
poucos e raros
редкие
tunns?dda, s?llsynta
??????? , ?ok seyrek
??? ??? ????? ??
th?t th??ng few means `not many'. a few means `some'. see also less. few →
málo, několik f?
harva, muutama ,
malobrojan, nekolicina
少しの, 少数 ???, ?? ,
f? ?????????, ????
ít, m?t vài ,
(US) (UK)few adj (comp
super least) poco
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Her father called her `Little Miss Tranquility', and the name suited her excellently, for she seemed to live in a happy world of her own, only venturing out to meet the few whom she trusted and loved.Very few letters were written in those hard times that were not touching, especially those which fathers sent home. Lighting a lamp, Wing Bid- dlebaum washed the few dishes soiled by his simple meal and, setting up a folding cot by the screen door that led to the porch, prepared to undress for the night. Well, he certainly is having some conversation," reflected Ned, as, after more than five minutes, Tom's ear was still at the receiver of the instrument, into the transmitter of which he had said only a few words. SEATTLE, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- From air duct cleaning to window tinting, kitchen remodeling to landscape design, homeowners who demand excellent service will find it on the new website Trusted Few.In fact we have too few of so many things: too few nuclear power stations, too few hospital beds, too few doctors, too few dentists, and so on.Few grew up in Creswell, and went to school at Oregon, and coached in Eugene, and for the last 20 years he's been turning Gonzaga into a mid-major power (just don't call the 'Zags a mid-major power).Located just a few minutes by train from Penn Station, the firm sees Newark as potentially a low cost alternative to Manhattan and consequently has packed the building with a collection of amenities on par with some of Manhattan's best new buildings but at half the rents, a level of value that Cogswell believes will be a draw to professionals who might not have previously considered living in the city.The industry, dominated just a few years ago by a bunch of seemingly loony space cadets with big dreams, is becoming the province of respectable, hardheaded CEOs.An endless stream of traffic hums in the background as a crowd composed predominately of young street punks and skinheads mill about the sidewalk, saying hello to friends before paying a few pesos to get into the show.com and they may show up in a the print edition in the next few weeks.Many people get sick right after they travel, so it is in your family's best interest to take a few precautions.
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