a few

/ə ˈfjuː/

determiner

A small number of (a set of countable items); more than one but not very many; especially, more than two but not very many (explained in usage note at several).

“Only a few miles separates the villages.”

Similar
a couple ofseveralfew
Opposite
onezeronoa lot ofmany
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

determiner
  1. A small number of (a set of countable items); more than one but not very many; especially, more than two but not very many (explained in usage note at several).

    Only a few miles separates the villages.

    3 more examples

    She loves to sing karaoke, but there are a few songs that she refuses to cover.

    After a dismal few months my life at long last changed for the better.

    "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal.[…]"

    1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC

    Synonyms: a couple of, several · Antonyms: one, zero, no, a lot of, many, numerous, countless

pronoun
  1. A small number of things.

    Regrets, I've had a few, but then again too few to mention.

    1 more example

    Did everyone go home? ―No, a few (of them) are still chatting.

Synonyms & antonyms

determinerA small number of (a set of countable items); more than one but not very many; especially, more than two but not very many (explained in usage note at several).

Similar
a couple ofseveral
Opposite
onezeronoa lot ofmanynumerouscountless

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivemore than one but indefinitely small in number

Similar
a couple offew
Also see
fewone or twoseveralsome

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Arabic قَلِيل, قَلِيل
  • قَلِيل (qalīl)a small number of
  • قَلِيل (qalīl)a small number of things
Bulgarian няколко, малко
  • няколко (njakolko)a small number of
  • малко (malko)a small number of
  • ня́колко (njákolko)a small number of things
Chinese Cantonese 啲
  • 啲 (di¹)a small number of things
Chinese Mandarin 幾個 /几个, 一些
  • 幾個 /几个 (jǐgè)a small number of
  • 一些 (yīxiē)a small number of
  • 若干 (ruògān)a small number of
  • 幾個 /几个 (jǐgè)a small number of things
  • 一些 (yīxiē)a small number of things
  • 若干 (ruògān)a small number of things
Czech několik, několik
  • několika small number of
  • několika small number of things
Esperanto kelkaj
  • kelkaja small number of
Finnish muutama, jokunen
  • muutamaa small number of
  • jokunena small number of
  • muutamaa small number of things
  • jokunena small number of things
French quelques, quelques-uns
  • quelquesa small number of
  • quelques-unsa small number of things
German einige, ein paar
  • einigea small number of
  • ein paara small number of
  • einigea small number of things
  • wenigea small number of things
  • ein paara small number of things
Hebrew כמה
  • כמה (kama)a small number of
Hindi कुछ
  • कुछ (kuch)a small number of things
Hungarian néhány, pár
  • néhánya small number of
  • pára small number of
  • egypára small number of
Irish cúpla, cúpla
  • cúplaa small number of
  • cúplaa small number of things
  • beagána small number of things
Italian pochi, alcuni
  • pochia small number of
  • alcunia small number of
  • pochia small number of things
  • un pò dia small number of things
Japanese 幾つか, 少数
  • 幾つか (ikutsuka)a small number of things
  • 少数 (shōsū)a small number of things
  • 二、三のa small number of things
Korean 약간, 몇
  • 약간 (yakgan)a small number of
  • 몇 (myeot)a small number of things
Latin nōnnūllus, aliquot
  • nōnnūllusa small number of
  • aliquota small number of
  • nōnnūllusa small number of things
Polish kilka, kilku
  • kilkaa small number of
  • kilkua small number of
  • niewielea small number of
  • niewielua small number of
  • kilkaa small number of things
Portuguese alguns, uns
  • algunsa small number of
  • unsa small number of
  • um poucoa small number of things
Romanian câțiva, câteva
  • câțivaa small number of
  • câtevaa small number of
  • câțivaa small number of things
  • câtevaa small number of things
Russian не́сколько, немно́го
  • не́сколько (néskolʹko)a small number of
  • немно́го (nemnógo)a small number of
  • не́сколько (néskolʹko)a small number of things
  • немно́го (nemnógo)a small number of things
Slovak niekoľko
  • niekoľkoa small number of things
Spanish unos, algunos
  • unosa small number of
  • algunosa small number of
  • pocosa small number of things
Swahili uchache wa
  • uchache waa small number of
Swedish några
  • någraa small number of
Tagalog may ilan, may ilan
  • may ilana small number of
  • may ilana small number of things
Tamil நாலு, சில
  • நாலு (nālu)a small number of
  • சில (cila)a small number of
  • ஒரு சில (oru cila)a small number of things
Ukrainian декілька, небага́то
  • декілька (dekilʹka)a small number of
  • небага́то (nebaháto)a small number of
  • де́кілька (dékilʹka)a small number of things
Urdu کُچھ
  • کُچھ (kuch)a small number of things
Vietnamese một vài
  • một vàia small number of things
Welsh ambell un
  • ambell una small number of
Yiddish אַ פּאָר, אַ פּאָר
  • אַ פּאָר (a por)a small number of
  • אַ פּאָר (a por)a small number of things
Cite this entry
APA

a few. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20few

MLA

“a few.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20few. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a few,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20few.

Source: a few on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.