| English Dictionary |
A FEW
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does a few mean?
• A FEW (adjective)
The adjective A FEW has 1 sense:
1. more than one but indefinitely small in number
Familiarity information: A FEW used as an adjective is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
More than one but indefinitely small in number
Synonyms:
a couple of; a few
Context example:
a couple of roses
Similar:
few (a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by 'a'; a small but indefinite number)
Context examples
There was a bit of a haze, and you could not see more than a few hundred yards.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"By God!" he cried to himself, once; "I'm just as good as them, and if they do know lots that I don't, I could learn 'm a few myself, all the same!"
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
We did so, and at the end of a few hundred yards lost the tracks as we emerged from the boggy portion of the moor.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I answered “they were innumerable; but I should only mention a few of the chief.”
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
With all the serious things you have to think about, you could be looking forward to breaking away for a few days of rest.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Each time he performed the journey with greater swagger, but he never brought more than a few dollars at a time.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
They stopped at the gate, and a few seconds later I met Van Helsing running up the avenue.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
Many men had sought it; few had found it; and more than a few there were who had never returned from the quest.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Only one of those whimsical little incidents which will happen when you have four million human beings all jostling each other within the space of a few square miles.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"I just found it a few minutes ago. Come right in and camp. Plenty of room, and you won't need your stove. There's room for all."
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home." (Aboriginal Australian proverbs)
"Don't count the teeth of a gift horse." (Armenian proverb)
"Every guest is welcome for three days." (Croatian proverb)