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.
Ford added: "It is predominantly fast food outlets – not too far from here, we have two main ones. So this whole area here is littered all the time."
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Chicken tenders, buttered noodles, the multi-billion dollar industries of American fast food and ultra-processed snack foods have created a category that didn’t necessarily need to exist.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
“It’s fast food or it’s packing boxes,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
These changes are crucial to protect the city’s nearly 50,000 fast food workers from violence, wage theft and the denial of basic labor protections, advocates said in a news release announcing the strike.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 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
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.
