1
a
: separate or distinct from one another
federal union of the several states
c
: being separate and distinctive : respective
specialists in their several fields
2
a
: more than one
several pleas
b
: more than two but fewer than many
moved several inches
c
chiefly dialectal
: being a great many
plural in construction
: an indefinite number more than two and fewer than many
several of the guests
Examples of several in a Sentence
Adjective
It took several days for the package to arrive.
He arrived several hours ago.
We added several more names to the list.
The meat can be cooked several ways.
There are several similar stores at the mall.
a federal union of the several states
Recent Examples on the Web
Melvin Backman, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
In a sign of how important several tight California congressional races are to determining control of Congress in the November election, a Democratic super PAC has booked more than $27 million in television and digital ads in the state.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Tech campuses, including several sites owned by search giant Google dot the vicinity.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Here's a list of several cities across the state where the eclipse will be viewable in totality, when the partial eclipse begins in those cities, when totality begins and when the partial eclipse ends.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Apr. 2024
In 1980, several hundred student protesters were beaten by government paratroopers, provoking a larger revolt that was also violently suppressed.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
The film is set in 1985, several years after the gruesome events of X, against the backdrop of the Night Stalker killings in Los Angeles.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
A number of members have run several thousand miles in the prison.
—Amy Woodyatt, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
Episodes 17-20 have yet to hit the 35-day mark, but performed strongly according to same-day data, outpacing several of the preceding episodes.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
One outfit, the Perryman Group, estimates that the impact could be more than several billion dollars between direct tourist spending ($1.6 billion) and other knock-on consumption (as much as $6 billion).
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024
In a sign of how important several tight California congressional races are to determining control of Congress in the November election, a Democratic super PAC has booked more than $27 million in television and digital ads in the state.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Tech campuses, including several sites owned by search giant Google dot the vicinity.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Here's a list of several cities across the state where the eclipse will be viewable in totality, when the partial eclipse begins in those cities, when totality begins and when the partial eclipse ends.
—Katie Wiseman, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Apr. 2024
In 1980, several hundred student protesters were beaten by government paratroopers, provoking a larger revolt that was also violently suppressed.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024
The film is set in 1985, several years after the gruesome events of X, against the backdrop of the Night Stalker killings in Los Angeles.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
A number of members have run several thousand miles in the prison.
—Amy Woodyatt, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024
Episodes 17-20 have yet to hit the 35-day mark, but performed strongly according to same-day data, outpacing several of the preceding episodes.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'several.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to several
Dictionary Entries Near several
Cite this Entry
“Several.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/several. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
several
1 of 2 adjective
sev·er·al
ˈsev-(ə-)rəl 
1
: separate or distinct from one another : different
federal union of the several states
2
: being more than two but not very many
several persons
severally
adverb
-ē
several
2 of 2 pronoun
: a small number : more than two but not very many
several of the guests
Legal Definition
several
adjective
sev·er·al
1
a
: of or relating separately to each individual involved
specifically
: enforceable separately against each party
each promisor owed a several duty
see also several liability at liability sense 2b, several obligation at obligation
b
: being separately or individually responsible, liable, or obligated
a several obligor
compare joint
2
: separate or distinct from one another
to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States—U.S. Constitution art. I
U.S. Constitution art. I
severally
adverb
Etymology
Adjective
Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin separalis, from Latin separ separate
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