fewer

[ fyoo-er ]
/ ˈfyu ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR fewer ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of a smaller number: fewer words and more action.

pronoun

(used with a plural verb) a smaller number: Fewer have come than we hoped.

Origin of fewer

Middle English fewere, Old English *fēawran. See few, -er4

usage note for fewer

See less.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fewer

fewer less (see usage note at less)

Words nearby fewer

feverwort, few, few and far between, few bricks shy of a load, few words, fewer, fewness, fey, feydeau, feynman, feynman diagram

Definition for fewer (2 of 2)

few
[ fyoo ]
/ fyu /

adjective, few·er, few·est.

not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.

noun

(used with a plural verb) a small number or amount: Send me a few.
the few, a special, limited number; the minority: That music appeals to the few.

pronoun

(used with a plural verb) a small number of persons or things: A dozen people volunteered, but few have shown up.

Origin of few

before 900; Middle English fewe, Old English fēawe; cognate with Gothic fawai; akin to Latin paucus few, paulus little, pauper poor, Greek paûros little, few

OTHER WORDS FROM few

o·ver·few, adjective

Words related to fewer

petty, minority, less, scanty, slight, lean, middling, short, minute, scattering, minor, trifling, exiguous, imperceptible, inconsequential, infrequent, insufficient, meager, negligible, occasional

Example sentences from the Web for fewer

British Dictionary definitions for fewer

few
/ (fjuː) /

determiner

noun

the few a small number of people considered as a class the few who fell at Thermopylae Compare many (def. 4)

Derived forms of few

fewness, noun

Word Origin for few

Old English fēawa; related to Old High German fao little, Old Norse fār little, silent

undefined few

See less

Idioms and Phrases with fewer

few