fewer

[fyoo-er] /ˈfyu ər/

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

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

Can be confused

fewer, less (see usage note at less)

Usage note

See less.

few

[fyoo] /fyu/

adjective, fewer, fewest.

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.

Idioms

few and far between, at widely separated intervals; infrequent:

In Nevada the towns are few and far between.

quite a few, a fairly large number; many:

There were quite a few interesting things to do.

Origin

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

Related forms

overfew, adjective

Examples from the web for fewer

They usually cover me with their own blood, and give up fewer seeds for the effort than it's worth.
There are about thirty in the upper eyelid, and somewhat fewer in the lower.
His characters, though fewer in number, appear more varied and less earthbound than theirs.
The amusing side is that the sooner there are no fewer the more certain is the necessity dwindled.
The less a tourist knows, the fewer mistakes he need make, for he will not expect himself to explain ignorance.
fewer possess virtue, than those who wish us to believe that they possess it.
There are no fewer than seven flagpoles for the running up of ideas.
They had fewer nightmares and flashbacks in their daily lives long after the effects of the drug had worn off.
There are fewer than a dozen in existence, and all claim the honor.
In a society that's becoming more stratified, a sensible tax system should draw more distinctions, not fewer.

British Dictionary definitions for fewer

few

/fjuː/

determiner

a small number of; hardly any: few men are so cruel
(as pronoun; functioning as plural): many are called but few are chosen

(preceded by a)

a small number of: a few drinks
(as pronoun; functioning as plural): a few of you

(informal) a good few, several

few and far between

at great intervals; widely spaced
not abundant; scarce

have a few, have a few too many, to consume several (or too many) alcoholic drinks

(informal) not a few, quite a few, several

noun

the few, a small number of people considered as a class: the few who fell at Thermopylae Compare many (sense 4)

Derived Forms

fewness, noun

less

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for fewer

few

adj.

Old English feawe (plural; contracted to fea) "few, seldom, even a little," from Proto-Germanic *faw-, from PIE root *pau- (1) "few, little" (cf. Latin paucus "few, little," paullus "little," parvus "little, small," pauper "poor;" Greek pauros "few, little," pais (genitive paidos) "child;" Latin puer "child, boy," pullus "young animal;" Oscan puklu "child;" Sanskrit potah "a young animal," putrah "son;" Old English fola "young horse;" Old Norse fylja "young female horse;" Old Church Slavonic puta "bird;" Lithuanian putytis "young animal, young bird"). Always plural in Old English.

Phrase few and far between attested from 1660s. Unusual ironic use in quite a few "many" (1883), earlier a good few (1828). The noun is late 12c., fewe, from the adjective.

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. [Winston Churchill, 1940]

Idioms and Phrases with fewer

few

also see: