fast-forward

[ fast-fawr-werd, fahst- ]

/ ˈfæstˈfɔr wərd, ˈfɑst- /

verb (used with or without object)

to advance an audio or video recording rapidly: I always fast-forward through the TV ads that get recorded on my DVR.

to skip over a period of time and arrive at a future point in the timeline, especially in narration: Fast-forward six months, she’s gotten engaged and is moving to Europe!

Nearby words

fast-breeder reactor, fast-count, fast-cut, fast-food, fast-fooder, fast-forward, fast-moving, fast-talk, fast-track, fast-twitch, fastback

Origin of fast-forward

First recorded in 1945–50

Definition for fast-forward (2 of 2)

fast forward

[ fast fawr-werd, fahst- ]

/ ˈfæst ˈfɔr wərd, ˈfɑst- /

noun

a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that allows the content to be advanced rapidly.

the button or other control that activates this function.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fast-forward

Fast-forward three centuries, and Cuomo II sounds awfully like the long-dead Louis.
Andrew Cuomo’s Do-Gooders Done Wrong|Lloyd Green|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fast-forward a decade and 10 seasons of The Bachelorette later.
People Prefer ‘The Bachelor’ to ‘The Bachelorette.’ Why? It’s Science.|Brandy Zadrozny|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fast-forward to 2012, when home and heart meant very different things to Republicans Romney and Ryan.
Memo to the 2016 GOP: Winning Your Home State Matters|Lloyd Green|May 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fast-forward a few weeks, and Maynard was in a kitchen baking pies with Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet.
Inside Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet’s Sexy ‘Labor Day’ Pie Scene|Kevin Fallon|February 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Fast-forward to the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
Why Won’t the West Defend Middle Eastern Christians?|Diarmaid MacCulloch|October 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for fast-forward

fast-forward

noun

(sometimes not hyphenated) the control on a tape deck or video recorder used to wind the tape or video forward at speed

informal a state of urgency or rapid progressmy mind went into fast forward

verb

(tr) to wind (a video or tape) forward using the fast-forward control

to deal with speedilyfast-forward the trials of the new drug

(intr) to move forward through a tape or video using the fast-forward control

(usually foll by to) to direct one's attention towards a particular time or event, ignoring intervening materialfast-forward to the summer of 2008

Word Origin for fast-forward

C20: from the fast-forward wind control in a tape deck

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012