From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishseveralsev‧er‧al1 /ˈsevərəl/ ●●● S1 W1 determiner, pronoun SOME/A FEWa number of people or things that is more than a few, but not a lot I visited him in Kansas several times. Several people have volunteered to go.several hundred/thousand etc The bill came to several hundred pounds. ‘Have you read any of his books?’ ‘Yes, several.’several of Several of her colleagues agreed with her decision. We had to wait several more weeks before the results arrived.THESAURUSseveral more than a few people or things, but not a large numberShe’s been to Japan several times.I’ve read several of his books.a number of something several. A number of sounds more formal than severalWe have received a number of complaints about last night’s programme.There are a number of different airlines to choose from.quite a few several – used when emphasizing that there are rather a lot of people, things etc. Quite a few sounds more informal than several and is more commonly used in spoken EnglishQuite a few people were already in the pool.She made quite a few enemies.It took him quite a few days to make up his mind.
Examples from the Corpus
several hundred/thousand etc• There are several hundred drugs which could affect a person with a predisposition to seizures.• Independence reckons to sell several thousand on all the platforms during the year.• The students were re-examined at various times during junior high, and several hundred participants were followed into high school.• During the afternoon, several hundred protesters had marched downtown to take part in a peaceful rally.• Then came the Christmas Day massacre, by an Inkatha mob several hundred strong.• Davos accommodated several hundred tuberculosis patients and their supporting relatives long before Alpine skiing was invented.• What they see is the brute fact of several thousand uncounted votes that would have made a difference.severalseveral2 adjective [only before noun, no comparative] formal SEPARATEdifferent and separate SYN respective They shook hands and went their several ways (=went in different directions). —severally adverb These issues can be considered severally, or as a whole.Examples from the Corpus
several• Business partners have a joint and several liability where taxes are concerned.Origin several2 (1400-1500) Anglo-French Medieval Latin separalis, from Latin separare; → SEPARATE2 