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.
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Juan Carlos Blain, the 41-year-old manager of several private groceries and fast food outlets in western Havana, said his company was treading water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
She said unhealthier options now dominated "our supermarkets, corner shops and fast food outlets".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
João Valentim and his friends, a group made up of Portuguese graduate students traveling from Madrid, have also been trying "mostly fast food, chain restaurants that we don't have in our own country."
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
After eating a lot of fast food, some of it on roller coasters, YouTuber Allen Ferrell has been banned by Six Flags from all of its amusement parks nationwide.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 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
Taco Bell, the fourth-largest U.S. fast-food chain by sales, has contended with its own episodes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
In 2024, state law made it so that all eligible fast-food employees would receive a minimum wage of $20 an hour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
After leaving a club, the men crossed paths with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at a fast-food restaurant and they all went to the beach.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Cornell's research, meanwhile, found an 8% decline in spending at fast-food chains and coffee shops.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
He left the apartment each evening at seven p.m. and worked a shift cooking burgers at a fast-food restaurant.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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.
