fast forward
noun
a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that allows the content to be advanced rapidly.
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fast forward
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fast-forward
fast-forwardverb (used with or without object)to advance an audio or video recording rapidly.
fast forward
1 American
[fast fawr-werd, fahst-]
/ ˈfæst ˈfɔr wərd, ˈfɑst- /
noun
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fast forwards
plural
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a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that allows the content to be advanced rapidly.
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the button or other control that activates this function.
fast-forward
2
American
[fast-fawr-werd, fahst-]
/ ˈfæstˈfɔr wərd, ˈfɑst- /
verb (used with or without object)
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to advance an audio or video recording rapidly.
I always fast-forward through the TV ads that get recorded on my DVR.
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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!
fast-forward
British
noun
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(sometimes not hyphenated) the control on a tape deck or video recorder used to wind the tape or video forward at speed
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informal a state of urgency or rapid progress
my mind went into fast forward
verb
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(tr) to wind (a video or tape) forward using the fast-forward control
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to deal with speedily
fast-forward the trials of the new drug
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(intr) to move forward through a tape or video using the fast-forward control
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(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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fast-forward
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To use a tool filled with other people’s stolen ideas in order to fast forward to an end result for attention, well, that isn’t art.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
But fast forward two weeks and the mood music surrounding the national team is funereal.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
But fast forward five decades, and a similar seven-pass manoeuvre by Argentina against France in the 2022 final - finished by winger Angel Di Maria – took just 12 seconds.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
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
It feels like life on triple fast forward, where everyone’s voices sound like chipmunks.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Now, fast-forward to 2016, 43 years after the country joined, when the U.K. held a referendum on leaving the EU.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
To understand why, fast-forward one year, when insurers will be offering plans for 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025
It’s just like, fast-forward, and she doesn’t stop moving.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
With a TiVo box you could fast-forward but not skip, so you couldn’t avoid seeing the pitch, even if at turbo speed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
I fast-forward through all of it, all the way until the end.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
