to name but a few vs to mention some

Both "to name but a few" and "to mention some" are correct phrases used to introduce a short list of examples. They are interchangeable in meaning and can be used in formal or informal contexts.

Last updated: March 22, 2024 • 2763 views

to name but a few

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to introduce a short list of examples.

This phrase is used to introduce a few examples without providing an exhaustive list. It implies that there are more examples than the ones mentioned.

Examples:

There are many beautiful places to visit in Italy, to name but a few: Rome, Venice, and Florence.
The company offers a wide range of products, to name but a few: laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

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We have seen the widespread use in recent conflicts: Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, to name but a few.
Many of the issues which are important to the Lisbon Strategy have been raised today, whether it is supporting innovation, fair competition, addressing energy issues, climate change, lifelong learning or investing in knowledge, to name but a few.
Over the past year we have seen difficult dossiers resolved on services, chemicals, REACH and the financial perspectives, to name but a few.
The issues are the surge in oil and food prices, climate change and energy security, migration and asylum to name but a few.
Fields such as research and development, innovation, competitiveness, consumer protection and information society, to name but a few, were at the forefront of our considerations.
There is a wide palette of symptoms, causes, diagnoses and therapies in terms of both pathogenicity and molecular biology: depression, schizophrenia, borderline psychosis, bulimia, anorexia, phobias, neuroses and mania, to name but a few.
Therefore we will need to continue to encourage the US to sign up to core UN human rights conventions, including those on discrimination against women, and the rights of the child - to name but a few.
We have extended the scope somewhat, because in the 1994 directive, a number of products were insufficiently defined, if at all, such as long-term holidays or product exchange, to name but a few.
Some of their names show this clearly: Viktor Yuschenko, Hamid Karzai, Mahmoud Abbas, Fuad Siniora, Evo Morales, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, to name but a few.
Therefore, close supervision of sectors such as fisheries, forestry and mining, to name but a few, as well as the treatment of women and minorities as regards access to labour markets and working conditions is extremely necessary.
Instead, it must do better in the policies that do require decision-making at at least European level and that represent true European added value: energy, climate, security and immigration, to name but a few.
One can well imagine the horror of consumers when they discover that sulphites and other unappetising ingredients are used in the production of wines as prestigious as champagne, or those of this beautiful region, Alsace, to name but a few.
Thanks to their commitment, they give practical shape and form to abstract values such as social integration, social cohesion, solidarity and lifelong learning in areas such as the environment, sport, human rights, culture, to name but a few.
The key areas include research and innovation, creating high-quality jobs, support for SMEs, climate projects, integrated urban development and the development of private-public partnership projects, to name but a few.
EU agencies or administrative expenditure are such horizontal key areas, to name but a few, to which separate attention will have to be paid.
We have already made progress regarding the code of good conduct, infringement procedures, and officials' freedom, to name but a few examples.
Many such tools already exist - public procurement legislation, European eco-labels and EMAS, to name but a few.
This house has so often spearheaded important European debates on openness, the environment, expansion, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to name but a few examples.
That is a great success, but many new and different challenges await us: climate, energy, defence, to name but a few.
Many support programmes such as research, environmental protection and youth exchanges, to name but a few, are multiannual programmes that are adopted by codecision.

Alternatives:

to mention just a few
to list a few
to cite a few
to bring up a few
to highlight a few

to mention some

This phrase is correct and can be used interchangeably with 'to name but a few' to introduce a short list of examples.