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.
The Gators like to get out in the fast break, but Iowa countered with a snail-paced offense style of any team in the nation this season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
During Palisades’ 71-56 semifinal victory over San Pedro on Saturday night, he stole the ball and was leading the fast break for what looked like could have been a breakaway layup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
After teammate Brandon Williams made an energizing block at the rim, triggering a fast break, Perry found Skyy Clark for a three-pointer that extended the Bruins’ advantage to double digits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
With less than five minutes left, Londynn Jones forced a turnover, dove for a loose ball and started a fast break that was finished by Kara Dunn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2025
He learned to fake and pass, to set pics, and to lead a fast break.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
They had 19 fast-break points in the first half.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
The Timberwolves finished with a 25-6 edge in fast-break points and a 44-32 edge in points in the paint, with forward Jaden McDaniels scoring a team-high 25 points and center Naz Reid adding 23.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2025
As Goldin hammered home a fast-break dunk and let out a roar, Musselman looked up at the scoreboard, with USC trailing by 15, less than four minutes into the second half.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2025
After running the floor for a fast-break layup late in the second quarter, Doncic was laboring and limping on the way back.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
He scored a fast-break layup with his left hand, pulled us within four.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
As the sun sets, Palestinians in Gaza gather at communal tables for the fast-breaking meal of iftar during Ramadan.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
Plainclothes agents arrested Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts University graduate student from Turkey, on a sidewalk Tuesday as she walked to see friends for the traditional fast-breaking during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
Speaking to a group of young people at a Ramadan fast-breaking meal in Ankara on Tuesday, President Erdogan urged patience and common sense amid what he described as "very sensitive days."
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2025
With the same deft touch as one of her down-court passes for an assist to a fast-breaking teammate, Clark has connected present to past.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Dave Mills, a vacuum cleaner off the back-boards, led a fast-breaking Seattle University team to victory last night.
From A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis by Powers, Melvin
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.
