Note 16 - Quarterly Data (Unaudited) - Quarterly Data (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended																12 Months Ended
	Nov. 28, 2020		Aug. 29, 2020		May 30, 2020		Feb. 29, 2020		Nov. 30, 2019		Aug. 31, 2019		Jun. 01, 2019		Mar. 02, 2019		Nov. 28, 2020	Nov. 30, 2019	Dec. 01, 2018
Net revenue	$ 777,640		$ 691,463		$ 674,602		$ 646,564		$ 739,106		$ 725,376		$ 759,583		$ 672,935		$ 2,790,269	$ 2,897,000	$ 3,041,002
Gross profit	213,642		187,844		184,901		170,262		201,217		207,321		218,459		179,925		756,649	806,922	828,158
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(139,712)	[1]	(129,113)	[1]	(127,998)	[1]	(141,509)	[1]	(148,521)	[1]	(140,615)	[1]	(146,079)	[1]	(145,713)	[1]	(538,332)	(580,928)	(590,267)
Net income attributable to H.B. Fuller	$ 40,604		$ 41,607		$ 31,613		$ 9,895		$ 32,214		$ 49,718		$ 36,641		$ 12,244		$ 123,719	$ 130,817	$ 171,208
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.78		$ 0.80		$ 0.61		$ 0.19		$ 0.63	[2]	$ 0.98	[2]	$ 0.72	[2]	$ 0.24	[2]	$ 2.38	$ 2.57	$ 3.38
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.77		$ 0.79		$ 0.61		$ 0.19		$ 0.61	[2]	$ 0.97	[2]	$ 0.70	[2]	$ 0.24	[2]	$ 2.36	$ 2.52	$ 3.29
Weighted-average common shares – basic (in shares)	52,276	[2]	52,130	[2]	51,420	[2]	51,295	[2]	51,901	[2]	50,939	[2]	50,902	[2]	50,752	[2]	52,039,000	50,920,000	50,591,000
Diluted (in shares)	52,879	[2]	52,591	[2]	52,029	[2]	52,580	[2]									52,520,000	51,983,000	51,975,000

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

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