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• fast track
  fast track

  noun

  a racetrack dry and hard enough for optimum speed.
• fast-track
  fast-track

  verb (used with or without object)

  to advance or develop rapidly.

fast track

¹ American  

noun

1. a racetrack dry and hard enough for optimum speed.

2. a railroad track for express trains.

3. Informal. a situation or course of action that is intensely pressured or competitive, especially one in which a person advances rapidly to a higher level in a business or profession.

   With two promotions in six months, he seems to have chosen the fast track.

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idioms

1. on a / the fast track,

   1. advancing or being promoted more rapidly than usual, especially in business or other organizational positions.

      an executive on the fast track.

   2. expanding or being developed or handled rapidly and often innovatively.

      a company on the fast track in computer technology.

fast-track ² American  

[fast-trak, fahst-] / ˈfæstˈtræk, ˈfɑst- /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to advance or develop rapidly.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the fast track.

fast-track British  

adjective

1. denoting the quickest or most direct route or system

   fast-track executives

   a fast-track procedure for libel claims

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verb

1. (tr) to speed up the progress of (a project or person)

fast track More Idioms  

1. A situation involving high pressure, competition, and, especially, rapid success or advancement. For example, He was definitely on a fast track, becoming a partner after only five years in the firm, or This company was on the fast track in software development. This term alludes to a dry, hard horse track that enables horses to run at high speeds. [Colloquial; mid-1960s] Also see fast lane.

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Other Word Forms

• fast-tracker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of fast-track

First recorded in 1830–40

Explanation

To fast-track something is to make it happen faster by bypassing standard delays. If a bakery has a big, last-minute order for cupcakes, they might fast-track production by bumping it to the front of the line. Synonyms for the verb fast-track include expedite and accelerate. The term originated in the railroad industry, referring to express lanes for high-speed trains. Today, it's used in business, legal, and career contexts. If a company decides to fast-track a new product, it will allocate extra resources and skip nonessential steps to beat competitors. The word is used as an adjective, too, often for employees on an accelerated career path: "Those fast-track executives keep getting promoted without much experience on the job!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fast track fast-track

The USDA, for example, relies on the maps as part of a "fast track" process for issuing disaster designations.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

The tech scion initially exuded confidence that Hollywood’s biggest merger in decades was on a fast track to completion by September.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Yamal isn’t the first teenager to hit a speed bump after taking the fast track into his national team.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Six years after the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the world and put society on the fast track for self-destruction, the metaphor initially feels overbearing, another indication that Spielberg is laying it on too thick.

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

Officer Delinko understood that if he did the job well, his career at the Coconut Cove Public Safety Department would once again be on the fast track.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

Bass frequently touts her decision to issue Executive Directive 1, which requires the city to fast-track the approval of 100% affordable housing projects with below-market-rate rents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Full corporate expensing in last year’s tax bill and proposed FDA reforms to fast-track reviews of new plants could encourage more manufacturing in the U.S., but new plants can’t be built overnight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Navy had recently chosen Damen “to help it fast-track a new fleet” of a different type of vessel: up to 35 medium-sized ships to move troops and supplies to shorelines.

From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026

Terra Drone’s interceptor built for the Japanese government in three months via a fast-track program is only about 20% locally sourced, the CEO said, but it aims to increase that portion significantly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

A compost pile is actually a fast-track method of changing crude organic materials into something resembling soil, called humus.

From Organic Gardener's Composting by Steve Solomon

Related Words

• accelerate
• assist
• facilitate
• hasten
• promote
• quicken
• speed
• urge