fe |ver pi tch N‑UNCOUNT [oft at N ] If something is at fever pitch , it is in an extremely active or excited state. □ Campaigning is reaching fever pitch for elections on November 6.
few ◆◆◆ /fjuː / (fewer , fewest )
1 DET You use a few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can also say a very few . □ I gave a dinner party for a few close friends. □ Here are a few more ideas to consider. □ She was silent for a few seconds. ● PRON Few is also a pronoun. □ Doctors work an average of 90 hours a week, while a few are on call for up to 120 hours. □ A strict diet is appropriate for only a few. ● QUANT Few is also a quantifier. □ There are many ways eggs can be prepared; here are a few of them. □ …a little tea-party I'm giving for a few of the teachers.
2 ADJ You use few after adjectives and determiners to indicate that you are talking about a small number of things or people. □ The past few weeks of her life had been the most pleasant she could remember. □ …in the last few chapters. □ A train would pass through there every few minutes at that time of day.
3 DET You use few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can use 'so', 'too', and 'very' in front of few . □ She had few friends, and was generally not very happy. □ Few members planned to vote for him. □ Very few firms collect the tax, even when they're required to do so by law. ● PRON Few is also a pronoun. □ The trouble is that few want to buy, despite the knockdown prices on offer. □ …a true singing and songwriting talent that few suspected. ● QUANT Few is also a quantifier. □ Few of the volunteers had military experience. ● ADJ Few is also an adjective. □ …spending her few waking hours in front of the TV. □ His memories of his father are few.
4 N‑SING The few means a small set of people considered as separate from the majority, especially because they share a particular opportunity or quality that the others do not have. □ This should not be an experience for the few. □ …a system built on academic excellence for the few.
5 PHRASE You use as few as before a number to suggest that it is surprisingly small. [EMPHASIS ] □ One study showed that even as few as ten cigarettes a day can damage fertility.
6 PHRASE Things that are few and far between are very rare or do not happen very often. [EMPHASIS ] □ In this economic climate new ideas were few and far between.
7 PHRASE You use no fewer than to emphasize that a number is surprisingly large. [EMPHASIS ] □ No fewer than thirteen foreign ministers attended the session.
fey /fe I / ADJ If you describe someone as fey , you mean that they behave in a shy, childish, or unpredictable way, and you are often suggesting that this is unnatural or insincere. [LITERARY ] □ Her fey charm and eccentric ways were legendary.
fez /fe z/ (fezzes ) N‑COUNT A fez is a round, red hat with no brim and a flat top.
ff.
1 In a book or magazine, when ff. is written it refers to the page or line mentioned and two or more pages or lines after it. □ …p. 173 ff.
2 In a piece of music, ff is a written abbreviation for fortissimo .
FGM /e f dʒiː e m / N‑UNCOUNT FGM is the practice of cutting off some or all of the outer sex organs of a girl or woman. FGM is an abbreviation for 'female genital mutilation'. □ …to encourage schools to teach pupils about FGM.
fi|an|cé /fiɒ nse I , [AM ] fiː ɑːnse I / (fiancés ) N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] A woman's fiancé is the man to whom she is engaged to be married.
fi|an|cée /fiɒ nse I , [AM ] fiː ɑːnse I / (fiancées ) N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] A man's fiancée is the woman to whom he is engaged to be married.
fi|as|co /fiæ skoʊ/ (fiascos ) N‑COUNT If you describe an event or attempt to do something as a fiasco , you are emphasizing that it fails completely. [EMPHASIS ] □ The blame for the Charleston fiasco did not lie with him. □ It was a bit of a fiasco.
fiat /fiː æt, fai -/ (fiats ) N‑COUNT [oft by N ] If something is done by fiat , it is done because of an official order given by someone in authority. [FORMAL ] □ He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.
fib /f I b/ (fibs , fibbing , fibbed )
1 N‑COUNT A fib is a small, unimportant lie. [INFORMAL ] □ She told innocent fibs like anyone else.
2 VERB If someone is fibbing , they are telling lies. [INFORMAL ] □ [V ] He laughs loudly when I accuse him of fibbing.
fi|bre /fa I bə r / (fibres ) in AM, use fiber 1 N‑COUNT A fibre is a thin thread of a natural or artificial substance, especially one that is used to make cloth or rope. □ If you look at the paper under a microscope you will see the fibres. □ …a variety of coloured fibres.
2 N‑VAR A particular fibre is a type of cloth or other material that is made from or consists of threads. □ The ball is made of rattan–a natural fibre.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Fibre consists of the parts of plants or seeds that your body cannot digest. Fibre is useful because it makes food pass quickly through your body. □ Most vegetables contain fibre.
4 N‑COUNT A fibre is a thin piece of flesh like a thread which connects nerve cells in your body or which muscles are made of. □ …the nerve fibres.