(quantifier used with count nouns; often preceded by `a') a small number; "a few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons than usual"; "an invalid's pleasures are few and far between"; "few roses were still blooming"; "few women have led troops in battle"
3
less
(nonstandard in some uses but often idiomatic with measure phrases; `we had less apples' is not acceptable) fewer; "less than three weeks"; "no less than 50 people attended"; "in 25 words or less"
