Fewer or Less?

What Is the Difference between "Fewer" and "Less"?

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"Fewer" and "less" are easy to confuse because the rules are not as simple as many people believe.

Use "less" when referring to a single item. For example:

less money
less cheese
less haste

Use "fewer" when referring to more than one item. For example:

fewer coins
fewer pieces of cheese
fewer rats

Use "less than" when referring to a time or a measurement. For example:

less than 4 weeks
less than 90 degrees
less than 300 calories

"less than 300 calories"

Not all grammarians agree that "less than 300 calories" is acceptable. Some would prefer "fewer than 300 calories," claiming that only a time or measurement preceded by a number attracts "less than." However, most judge that any noun preceded by a number constitutes a measurement, thereby justifying "less than."

Our stance? We would use "less than."

(If you disagree, you can tell us here.)

More about "Fewer" and "Less"

The rules on using "less" and "fewer" mean that "less" is always used with non-countable nouns (as they can't be pluralized), and "fewer" is always used with countable nouns.

However, remember that there is a quirk. The term "less than" is used with numbers before times and measurements (e.g., less than four days, less than 12 miles).

Example Sentences with "Fewer" and "Less"

There is less cheese on this plate.
There are fewer pieces of cheese on this plate.
There are less pigeons in Trafalgar Square than there used to be.
In the future, there will be less coins in circulation.
Fewer people will vote in the forthcoming elections.

"Less Than" with Times and Measurements

Use "less than" (as opposed to "fewer than") with numbers used with times and measurements. For example:

Unemployed? You can get a great job in less than three months. How? Learn to program. (Author Tucker Max)
Butterflies cannot fly if their body temperature is less than 86 degrees.

The rules with "fewer" and "less" are under change. Few people would challenge "less than" being used with a number that doesn't quantify a date or a measurement.

There are fewer than 10 species left.
There are less than 10 species left.

Look at this example:

He wanted to eat fewer calories. He limited himself to less than 2000 calories a day.

Here is evidence from Google's Ngram viewer proving that "less than" is more common than "fewer than" with a plural noun modified by a number. (Remember that Google's Ngram viewer scans millions of published books. It does not trawl informal texts such as emails, blogs, or social-media entries. This makes it a powerful tool for identifying grammar usage among credible writers.)

Common Terms with "Fewer" and "Less"

Here are some common terms with "fewer" and "less":

Fewer

fewer people
fewer miles
fewer hours
fewer calories

Less

less staff
less time
less haste

Less Than

less than 3 hours
less than 45 degrees
less than 100 calories

A Video Summary

Here is a 1-minute video summarizing this lesson on "fewer" and "less": video lesson

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.

Adopt the Fewer/Less Ruling

Many people consider the fewer/less ruling to be outdated. It is certainly not well observed by some large reputable companies. For example:

less bags

(fewer bags

)
(Wall*Mart poster)

less napkins

(fewer napkins

)
(Starbucks napkin)

less emissions

(fewer emissions

)
(Volvo advert)

We advise that you play it safe and adopt the ruling. Using "less" incorrectly may irk your readers. Using "fewer" correctly will showcase your grammar skills.