Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fewer

/ˈfjuː.ɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.31 in modern English

Syllables: few-er
IPA: /ˈfjuː.ɚ/

11

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

det

comparative degree of few; a smaller number.

det

Less; a smaller amount of something non-integral commonly expressed as an integer

Example Sentences

"Fewer women wear hats these days."
"There are fewer tigers than there were a hundred years ago."
"Construction of the station and approach line involved considerable engineering work and the demolition of no fewer than 540 houses and a church, […]."
"This hypothesis goes by many names, including group resistence, the threshold effect, and the gender paradox. Because the hypothesis holds such wide appeal, it is worth revisiting the logic behind it. The hypothesis is built on the factual observation that fewer females than males act antisocially."
"Leaving from my home in Alameda, the heavily BART-assisted journey took fewer than five hours round trip."

Etymology

From Middle English fewere, equivalent to few + -er.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: fewere
Suffix: few

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfjuː.ɚ/

Inflected Forms

fewest (superlative)

Phrases

could care fewer the fewer the better fare

Frequently Paired Words

less

Rhymes With

newer viewer sewer brewer reviewer truer who're dewar skewer heuer pursuer bluer

Questions

How do you pronounce fewer?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfjuː.ɚ/.
What does fewer mean?: comparative degree of few; a smaller number.
Where does fewer come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce fewer

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “fewer”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfjuː.ɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “fewer”.
Repeat and practice — Say “fewer” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.