moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast horse;a fast pain reliever;a fast thinker.
done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time: a fast race;fast work.
(of time)
indicating a time in advance of the correct time, as of a clock.
noting or according to daylight-saving time.
adapted to, allowing, productive of, or imparting rapid movement: a hull with fast lines;one of the fastest pitchers in baseball.
characterized by unrestrained conduct or lack of moral conventions, especially in sexual relations; wanton; loose: Some young people in that era were considered fast, if not downright promiscuous.
characterized by hectic activity: leading a fast life.
resistant: acid-fast.
firmly fixed in place; not easily moved; securely attached.
held or caught firmly, so as to be unable to escape or be extricated: an animal fast in a trap.
firmly tied, as a knot.
closed and made secure, as a door, gate, or shutter.
such as to hold securely: to lay fast hold on a thing.
firm in adherence; loyal; devoted: fast friends.
permanent, lasting, or unchangeable: a fast color;a hard and fast rule.
Informal.
(of money, profits, etc.) made quickly or easily and sometimes deviously: He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage.
cleverly quick and manipulative in making money: a fast operator when it comes to closing a business deal.
Photography.
(of a lens) able to transmit a relatively large amount of light in a relatively short time.
(of a film) requiring a relatively short exposure time to attain a given density.
Horse Racing.
(of a track condition) completely dry.
(of a track surface) very hard.
adverb,fast·er,fast·est.
quickly, swiftly, or rapidly.
in quick succession: Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis.
tightly; firmly: to hold fast.
soundly: fast asleep.
in a wild or dissipated way.
ahead of the correct or announced time.
Archaic. close; near: fast by.
noun
a fastening for a door, window, or the like.
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Idioms for fast
play fast and loose. play (def. 80).
pull a fast one, Informal. to play an unfair trick; practice deceit: He tried to pull a fast one on us by switching the cards.
Origin of fast
1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English fæst “firm”; cognate with Dutch vast, Old Norse fastr “firm,” German fest; akin to fast2
fashiony, Fashoda, fasnacht, FASSA, Fassbinder, fast, fast and furious, fast and loose, fastback, fastball, fast break
Definition for fast (2 of 3)
fast2
[ fast, fahst ]
/ fæst, fɑst /
verb (used without object)
to abstain from all food.
to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially as a religious observance.
verb (used with object)
to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery.
noun
an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, especially when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.
a day or period of fasting.
Origin of fast
2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English fasten, festen, Old English fæstan; cognate with German fasten, Gothic fastan, Old Norse fasta
OTHER WORDS FROM fast
un·fast·ing,adjective
Definition for fast (3 of 3)
fast3
[ fast, fahst ]
/ fæst, fɑst /
noun
a chain or rope for mooring a vessel.
Origin of fast
3
First recorded in 1670–80; alteration, by association with fast1 (in the sense “firmly tied”), of late Middle English fest “fastening, mooring rope,” from Old Norse festr “mooring rope, cable,” from Old Norse fastr “fixed, firm”; cf. fasten, fast1
“It’s a big goal, but I think we could do $75-100 million in sales next year with Fabletics Men, which is our first full year with this line, which would be very, very fast growth,” Goldenberg says.
Fabletics’ Adam Goldenberg and Kevin Hart on what’s next for the activewear empire|Lucas Matney|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
The upshot is a technology that provides a fast and low cost way to reduce emissions, Johnson told TechCrunch.
ClearFlame Engine Technologies takes aim at cleaning up diesel engines|Kirsten Korosec|September 17, 2020|TechCrunch
Huoseh would challenge his players to record the fastest times possible in their runs before ending the session with a scrimmage and a visit to a nearby Subway for lunch.
A Canadian Teenager Is One Of The Fastest Soccer Players In The World|Julian McKenzie|September 16, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Together with astrophysicists Ke Fang of Stanford University and Ben Margalit of the University of California, Berkeley, Metzger calculated the energies of any neutrinos that would have been produced by the fast radio burst seen in April.
Neutrinos could reveal how fast radio bursts are launched|Lisa Grossman|September 16, 2020|Science News
The tablet comes with a so-called A12 Bionic chip, designed by Apple, that gives it a 40% CPU speed boost and graphics that are twice as fast as last year’s model.
Everything announced at Apple’s ‘Time Flies’ event today|rhhackettfortune|September 15, 2020|Fortune
The focus here was on how fast oil would come out of the Canadian fields.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: Jan. 4|PunditFact.com|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Both high fashion and the fast, commercial fashion of Target are supposed to be about aspiration.
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem|Danielle Belton|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And if people find themselves dissatisfied with how often they turn to fast food, Bacon says to try things like batch cooking.
Why Your New Year’s Diet Will Fail|Carrie Arnold|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I think it all happened so fast for Sony that they were trying to regroup.
The Inside Story of How Sony’s ‘The Interview’ Finally Made It to Theaters|Marlow Stern|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
High flying and fast, the F-22 Raptor stealth jet is by far the most lethal fighter America has ever built.
Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets|Dave Majumdar|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's a very old song now, and bring us as fast as you can to the castle and the marriage.
Blackwoods Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 366, April, 1846|Various
"I was somewhere about this spot when the half-hour struck last night, for your clocks were fast," remarked Rupert.
Trevlyn Hold|Mrs. Henry Wood
Lucy's pathetic tones, which were fast degenerating into sobs, were agreeably interrupted.
Love Me Little, Love Me Long|Charles Reade
She told me to be quiet and have courage and all would be well and that I must get well as fast as possible.
A Child of the Sea; and Life Among the Mormons|Elizabeth Whitney Williams
The day appointed for sailing was fast approaching, and had to make all speed to get through various engagements in Manilla.
Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas|W. Hastings Macaulay
British Dictionary definitions for fast (1 of 2)
fast1
/ (fɑːst) /
adjective
acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly; swift
accomplished in or lasting a short timefast work; a fast visit
(prenominal)adapted to or facilitating rapid movementthe fast lane of a motorway
requiring rapidity of action or movementa fast sport
(of a clock, etc) indicating a time in advance of the correct time
given to an active dissipated life
of or characteristic of such activitya fast life
not easily moved; firmly fixed; secure
firmly fastened, secured, or shut
steadfast; constant (esp in the phrase fast friends)
sport(of a playing surface, running track, etc) conducive to rapid speed, as of a ball used on it or of competitors playing or racing on it
that will not fade or change colour readilya fast dye
proof against fadingthe colour is fast to sunlight
(in combination)washfast
photog
requiring a relatively short time of exposure to produce a given densitya fast film
permitting a short exposure timea fast shutter
cricket(of a bowler) characteristically delivering the ball rapidly
informalglib or unreliable; deceptivea fast talker
archaicsound; deepa fast sleep
informala deceptive or unscrupulous trick (esp in the phrase pull a fast one)
fast workera person who achieves results quickly, esp in seductions
adverb
quickly; rapidly
soundly; deeplyfast asleep
firmly; tightly
in quick succession
in advance of the correct timemy watch is running fast
in a reckless or dissipated way
fast byorfast besidearchaicclose or hard by; very near
play fast and looseinformalto behave in an insincere or unreliable manner
interjection
archery(said by the field captain to archers) stop shooting!
Word Origin for fast
Old English fæst strong, tight; related to Old High German festi firm, Old Norse fastr
British Dictionary definitions for fast (2 of 2)
fast2
/ (fɑːst) /
verb
(intr)to abstain from eating all or certain foods or meals, esp as a religious observance
noun
an act or period of fasting
(as modifier)a fast day
Derived forms of fast
faster, noun
Word Origin for fast
Old English fæstan; related to Old High German fastēn to fast, Gothic fastan