few

(noun, adjective, pronoun, determiner)

adjective

1. a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number

- a few weeks ago

- a few more wagons than usual

- an invalid's pleasures are few and far between

Similar word(s): fewer, some

determiner

1. (preceded by another determiner) An indefinite, but usually small, number of.

- I was expecting lots of people at the party, but very few (=almost none) turned up.

2. (used alone) Not many; a small (in comparison with another number stated or implied) but somewhat indefinite number of.

- There are few people who understand quantum theory.

3. (meteorology, of clouds) (US?) Obscuring one eighth to two eighths of the sky.

- Tonight: A few clouds. Increasing cloudiness overnight.

- NOAA definition of the term "few clouds": An official sky cover classification for aviation weather observations, descriptive of a sky cover of 1/8 to 2/8. This is applied only when obscuring phenomenon aloft are present--that is, not when obscuring phenomenon are surface-based, such as fog.

4. (meteorology, of rainfall with regard to a location) (US?) Having a 10 percent chance of measurable precipitation (0.01 inch); used interchangeably with isolated.

noun

1. a small elite group

- it was designed for the discriminating few

Definition categories: group, elite

pronoun

1. Few people, few things.

- Many are called, but few are chosen.