- present participle of fast.
fasting
Americannoun
-
fastings
plural
adjective
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abstaining from eating or drinking, from certain foods or drinks, or from a particular habitual activity for a period.
-
(of a blood sugar test or its result) using or based on blood taken from a person after they have abstained from eating for a prescribed period.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Explanation
Fasting is going for a certain length of time without eating anything. Sometimes fasting is required before you have surgery, like getting your wisdom teeth removed. Often fasting is done for medical or health reasons, or in an attempt to lose weight. For many other people, fasting is an important part of their religious observance. Fasting is done by Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Jews, among other groups. Fasting comes from fast, which in turn has an Old English root, fæsten, "voluntary abstinence from food or drink, especially as a religious duty."
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:
Nicknamed 'The Wizard of the Dribble', he would perform stretching and breathing exercises, do extra training and take care of his diet - fasting and not drinking alcohol.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
"We lived a quiet normal life, fasting for a few days then having a small meal," Shukrani said.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
And a 2025 review of 99 randomized clinical trials found that intermittent fasting is associated with modest weight loss compared to a normal, unrestricted diet.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
Research suggests that intermittent fasting may improve blood-sugar control in people with Type 2 diabetes.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
It went off every day to announce noontime, and also to signal the end of daylight fasting during the month of Ramadan.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Her fastings may be said to have been almost unintermittent, so that Jerome thought it was only by the grace of God that she survived until her fiftieth year without weakening her digestion.
From Women of Early Christianity by Alfred Brittain
The monk Anchin was young in years but old in holiness; he kept his body under by fastings and watchings and long prayers.
From Japanese Fairy Tales by Grace James
It might have been the resort of that Hannah who departed not from the Temple but served the Lord with fastings and with prayers day and night.
From Ellen Middleton—A Tale by Georgiana Fullerton
I spent in secret humiliation and fastings, and finished my whole assurance to a better life, consisting of three score and four signs, or marks drawn from several graces.
From Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 3 by Isaac Disraeli
He was greatly exercised in mind, too; and had he been a Roman Catholic priest he would probably have submitted himself to fastings and other penitential exercises.
From The New Mistress A Tale by George Manville Fenn
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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.
