fast forward

¹

[fast fawr-werd, fahst-]

noun

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

2. the button or other control that activates this function.

fast-forward

²

[fast-fawr-werd, fahst-]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to advance an audio or video recording rapidly.

   I always fast-forward through the TV ads that get recorded on my DVR.

2. 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!

fast-forward

noun

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

2. informal,  a state of urgency or rapid progress

   my mind went into fast forward

verb

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

2. to deal with speedily

   fast-forward the trials of the new drug

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

4. (usually foll by to) to direct one's attention towards a particular time or event, ignoring intervening material

   fast-forward to the summer of 2008

Word History and Origins

Origin of fast forward¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Word History and Origins

Origin of fast forward¹

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

Example Sentences

Fast forward to 2025, and Google is on its seventh generation of TPUs.

Read more on Barron's

Sika said the measures set out in its “fast forward” program would deliver annual cost savings of 150 million to 200 million Swiss francs from 2028.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Australian Test cricket has hit the fast forward button harder than most.

Read more on BBC

Fast forward 122 years, and we are still making subjective judgements about a player in an offside position who does not touch the ball.

Read more on BBC

Fast forward to nearly a year later: the price of Bitcoin has slumped this month as investors unload risk-on assets for amid concerns about stretched artificial-intelligence valuations.

Read more on Barron's