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• fast food
  fast food

  noun

  food, as hamburgers, pizza, or fried chicken, that is prepared in quantity by a standardized method and can be dispensed quickly at inexpensive restaurants for eating there or elsewhere.
• fast-food
  fast-food

  adjective

  of or specializing in fast food.

fast food

¹ American  

noun

1. food, as hamburgers, pizza, or fried chicken, that is prepared in quantity by a standardized method and can be dispensed quickly at inexpensive restaurants for eating there or elsewhere.

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fast-food ² American  

[fast-food, fahst-] / ˈfæstˈfud, ˈfɑst- /

adjective

1. of or specializing in fast food.

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fast food British  

noun

1. food that requires little preparation before being served

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adjective

1. (of a restaurant, café, etc) serving such food

Usage

​What does fast food mean?​ Fast food is food quickly prepared and served, often at chain restaurants and typically associated with less expensive and less nutritious items like hamburgers, french fries, and soft drinks.

Etymology

Origin of fast food¹

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Origin of fast-food²

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fast food fast-food

“They positioned themselves as a cut above traditional fast food, a little bit higher quality,” Mark Kalinowski, a restaurant analyst and CEO of Kalinowski Equity Research, told MarketWatch in August.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

This year, the retail giant teamed up with Subway, Dunkin’, and Papa John’s to offer fast food delivery.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

BBC Reporter Viraj Soni, who is at the scene, has said that marked police cars are parked along the road, which is lined by fast food stores and shops.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Zhang has been trying to save by cooking more at home, or at least picking up his fast food rather than paying for delivery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

You eat fast food or the hot dogs and Styrofoam cups of soup that can be microwaved in a convenience store.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

It has its own culture, its own music, and its own fast-food chains.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

The fast-food company’s stock is down roughly 70% over the past five years after operational missteps weighed on traffic and pressured earnings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Shares for the fast-food chain have slid 50% this year as its sales sag.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

“The way I see it, I can spend the same amount of money on a prepared meal at a fast-food restaurant or buy ingredients that make a whole meal for multiple days,” Sabree told me.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

They stopped at a fast-food place, where he ordered a hamburger.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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