FEWER
What does "FEWER" mean?
A smaller number of countable things.
Meanings
- Comparative of 'few'; a smaller number of separate, countable items. There were fewer cars on the road than usual that morning.
- A smaller number of people or things, used without a following noun. Many were invited, but far fewer actually came.
Did you know?
- The famous 'fewer for things you count, less for things you measure' rule isn't ancient law - it began as one man's preference: Robert Baker merely suggested it in 1770, and it hardened into a rule afterward.
Word origin
Comparative of 'few', from Old English 'feawe' (few), of Germanic origin, related to Latin 'paucus' (little, scant).
Remember it
FEWER for things with a number you can count - both 'fewer' and 'number' carry the same idea of separate units.
A little poem
Count what you keep, and keep it few-
the fewer the things, the truer the view.
couplet
Wordplay
- The express lane sign said 'ten items or less' - the editor in me bought one fewer just to fix it.
What it teaches
Fewer of the right things beats more of the rest; subtraction is a kind of choosing.
Quick facts
What does FEWER mean?
A smaller number of countable things.
Is FEWER a valid word?
Yes — FEWER is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is FEWER?
FEWER has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does FEWER come from?
Comparative of 'few', from Old English 'feawe' (few), of Germanic origin, related to Latin 'paucus' (little, scant).
What can FEWER teach us?
Fewer of the right things beats more of the rest; subtraction is a kind of choosing.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.