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.
João Valentim and his friends, a group made up of Portuguese graduate students traveling from Madrid, have also been trying "mostly fast food, chain restaurants that we don't have in our own country."
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Videos and images showed buildings collapsing, including a clip of a Jollibee fast food restaurant reduced to rubble.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
After eating a lot of fast food, some of it on roller coasters, YouTuber Allen Ferrell has been banned by Six Flags from all of its amusement parks nationwide.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Trump often boasts about his health, saying that he is far fitter than previous presidents despite his weight and a love of fast food.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
My mother makes us scarf down our food in four minutes, reinforcing the definition of fast food.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
In 2024, state law made it so that all eligible fast-food employees would receive a minimum wage of $20 an hour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
US fast-food chain Taco Bell is removing lettuce from its menu in some states after investigations found it could be linked to an outbreak of explosive diarrhoea caused by a parasite.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
After leaving a club, the men crossed paths with the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at a fast-food restaurant and they all went to the beach.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Minor Food is one of the biggest fast-food and casual dining chains in Asia-Pacific.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
To her, having a fast-food lunch meant giving up a “real meal.”
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.
