By definition, several means three or more (but often less than many, which we will cover next.) So, if several party-goers out of a group of nine were intoxicated, several could correctly be translated as three or four. If five party-goers were intoxicated, that would usually be stated as most.

How many does several mean?

Several, according to its dictionary definition means “more than two but not many”, so a few but not a couple.

Is 5 a few or several?

Couple is used when referring to two things, as in "a couple of days ago," whereas few and several are less specific. Few means "not many but some," as in "The train leaves in a few minutes," and several denotes more than the words couple and few do but implies lesser than the word many does.