a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that allows the content to be advanced rapidly.
the button or other control that activates this function.
to advance an audio or video recording rapidly.
I always fast-forward through the TV ads that get recorded on my DVR.
to skip over a period of time and arrive at a future point in the timeline, especially in narration.
Fast-forward six months, she’s gotten engaged and is moving to Europe!
(sometimes not hyphenated) the control on a tape deck or video recorder used to wind the tape or video forward at speed
informal a state of urgency or rapid progress
my mind went into fast forward
(tr) to wind (a video or tape) forward using the fast-forward control
to deal with speedily
fast-forward the trials of the new drug
(intr) to move forward through a tape or video using the fast-forward control
(usually foll by to) to direct one's attention towards a particular time or event, ignoring intervening material
fast-forward to the summer of 2008
First recorded in 1945–50
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Australian Test cricket has hit the fast forward button harder than most.
From BBC • Nov. 26, 2025
He hasn’t watched live television in about a decade, using his TiVo to fast forward through commercials or speed past analysts’ banter during sports games.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
The fast forward signed to be one of the Kraken’s top scoring threats hadn’t found the net since Jan. 4 — his only goal of the season.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2024
But fast forward to Saturday night, in the same arena against the same opponent at the same weight, and Taylor did what great fighters do - she rose again.
From BBC • Nov. 26, 2023
“Let’s fast forward to where he’s actually been going.”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
