Less vs. Fewer

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      Use less for uncountable or mass nouns.

      Use fewer for nouns that you can count.

      Less

      Use less for quantities that are measured rather than counted:

      • Less time

      • Less effort

      You can’t count effort or time (without using units like minutes or hours), so use less.

      However, there are exceptions:

      • Use less for distances (less than 3 kilometers)

      • Use less for sums of money (less than 50 dollars)

      • Use less for units of time and weight (less than 7 years, less than 10 pounds)

      • Use less for statistics (less than 2,000 people)

      Fewer

      Use fewer for things that can be counted or have a number attached to them:

      • Fewer databases

      • Fewer indexes

      • Fewer status updates

      You can count the number of databases, indexes, or status updates, so use fewer.