fast food
noun
food, as hamburgers, pizza, or fried chicken, that is prepared in quantity by a standardized method and can be dispensed quickly at inexpensive restaurants for eating there or elsewhere.
fast food
1 Americannoun
fast-food
2
American
[fast-food, fahst-]
/ ˈfæstˈfud, ˈfɑst- /
adjective
fast food
British
noun
adjective
Usage
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.
Etymology
Origin of fast food1
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
Origin of fast-food2
An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
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:
Although so-called fast food might seem an easy target for automation, it's proved harder than many expected.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Slate’s Steffi Cao set out to uncover just how the chain became such a phenomenon—and what its rise reveals about consumer desire, brand loyalty, and the future of American fast food.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
So she started incorporating the way she ate in Leiden in the U.S., such as eating less fast food, smaller quantities and changing her grocery shopping habits, like buying whole rather than pre-chopped broccoli.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
“They positioned themselves as a cut above traditional fast food, a little bit higher quality,” said Mark Kalinowski, a restaurant analyst and CEO of Kalinowski Equity Research.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
“I read this article at school about how too much fast food is bad for you.”
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
Philippines fast-food giant Jollibee JFC 1.87%increase; up pointing triangle is considering listing its international arm in Hong Kong, advancing a plan to split its overseas and domestic businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The LCD screens outside the Denver Nuggets basketball arena continue to flicker, although weeds and wolves have overrun the fast-food joints in a bit of postapocalyptic product placement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
It’s rare to see a fast-food CEO as public as Graves is—that can be risky, as the McDonald’s CEO can attest—but it’s another way the company is meeting its customers where they are.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
On YouTube, the very same platform hosting Duffy’s vapid post-vacation slideshow, content abounds showing soccer lovers’ appreciation for our fast-food joints, rowdy dance clubs and ranch dressing.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The fast-food chains have been able to build foods that push our evolutionary buttons.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
