fast food

¹

noun

1. 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

²

[fast-food, fahst-]

adjective

1. of or specializing in fast food.

fast food

noun

1. food that requires little preparation before being served

adjective

1. (of a restaurant, café, etc) serving such food

Word History and Origins

Origin of fast food¹

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Origin of fast food²

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

Chili’s explicitly says that another of its entries in the burger wars, a quarter-pounder, is “another swing at fast food.”

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He liked fast food and sports and, most importantly, he shared all their gripes and complaints and articulated them in the same terms some used themselves.

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Coming at a time of flagging growth, tumbling stock and the company’s first report of a quarterly loss, the Dollar Menu reversed the fast food giant’s bad fortune.

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The pants cost $5.95, less than what she pays for a burger and fries from In-N-Out, her favorite fast food chain.

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As the fast food chain and other burger joints grew in popularity, the family brainstormed other products they could manufacture, Roberts recalled in a 2007 interview with the Orange County Register.

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When To Use

​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.