Note 1 - Nature of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2019	[1]	Aug. 31, 2019	[1]	Jun. 01, 2019	[1]	Mar. 02, 2019	[1]	Dec. 01, 2018	[1],[2]	Sep. 01, 2018	[1],[2]	Jun. 02, 2018	[1],[2]	Mar. 03, 2018	[1],[2]	Nov. 30, 2019	Dec. 01, 2018	Dec. 02, 2017
Net income attributable to H.B. Fuller																	$ 130,817	$ 171,208	$ 59,418
Weighted-average common shares – basic (in shares)	51,089		50,939		50,902		50,752		50,712		50,632		50,551		50,471		50,920	50,591	50,370
Equivalent shares from share-based compensation plans (in shares)																	1,063	1,384	1,249
Weighted-average common and common equivalent shares – diluted (in shares)	52,423		51,502		52,105		51,901		52,017		52,138		51,846		51,898		51,983	51,975	51,619
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)																	$ 2.57	$ 3.38	$ 1.18
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)																	$ 2.52	$ 3.29	$ 1.15

[1] Quarterly income per share amounts may not equal full year amounts due to rounding.

[2] Amounts have been adjusted retrospectively for the change in accounting principle as discussed in Note 1.