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.
Virginia implemented the FastForward program in 2016 to train residents for jobs in education, health care and other in-demand fields.
From Washington Post • Jul. 14, 2021
It is home to FastForward, the university’s start-up incubator.
From The Guardian • Apr. 18, 2018
He operates from a sunny building in Ramallah, which houses a two-year-old West Bank accelerator called FastForward.
From Forbes • Apr. 30, 2015
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.
