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• fast track
  fast track

  noun

  a racetrack dry and hard enough for optimum speed.
• fast-track
  fast-track

  verb (used with or without object)

  to advance or develop rapidly.

fast track

¹ American  

noun

1. a racetrack dry and hard enough for optimum speed.

2. a railroad track for express trains.

3. Informal. a situation or course of action that is intensely pressured or competitive, especially one in which a person advances rapidly to a higher level in a business or profession.

   With two promotions in six months, he seems to have chosen the fast track.

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idioms

1. on a / the fast track,

   1. advancing or being promoted more rapidly than usual, especially in business or other organizational positions.

      an executive on the fast track.

   2. expanding or being developed or handled rapidly and often innovatively.

      a company on the fast track in computer technology.

fast-track ² American  

[fast-trak, fahst-] / ˈfæstˈtræk, ˈfɑst- /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to advance or develop rapidly.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the fast track.

fast-track British  

adjective

1. denoting the quickest or most direct route or system

   fast-track executives

   a fast-track procedure for libel claims

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verb

1. (tr) to speed up the progress of (a project or person)

fast track More Idioms  

1. A situation involving high pressure, competition, and, especially, rapid success or advancement. For example, He was definitely on a fast track, becoming a partner after only five years in the firm, or This company was on the fast track in software development. This term alludes to a dry, hard horse track that enables horses to run at high speeds. [Colloquial; mid-1960s] Also see fast lane.

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Other Word Forms

• fast-tracker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of fast-track

First recorded in 1830–40

Explanation

To fast-track something is to make it happen faster by bypassing standard delays. If a bakery has a big, last-minute order for cupcakes, they might fast-track production by bumping it to the front of the line. Synonyms for the verb fast-track include expedite and accelerate. The term originated in the railroad industry, referring to express lanes for high-speed trains. Today, it's used in business, legal, and career contexts. If a company decides to fast-track a new product, it will allocate extra resources and skip nonessential steps to beat competitors. The word is used as an adjective, too, often for employees on an accelerated career path: "Those fast-track executives keep getting promoted without much experience on the job!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fast track fast-track

The USDA, for example, relies on the maps as part of a "fast track" process for issuing disaster designations.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Suddenly, the fast track looked, to some, like a shortcut.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Total Market index, you had switched to tracking the S&P 500—which didn’t modify its rules to fast track SpaceX into the index—it would have been pretty much a wash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The tech scion initially exuded confidence that Hollywood’s biggest merger in decades was on a fast track to completion by September.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

He was going to have the luxury of a hard, fast track, but his problem would he traffic.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Stung by the loss, Newsom’s office pressed for new legislation to fast-track a future shipyard at the site, to ensure the state would be ready for the next opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Last month, the SEC cleared a path for trading venues to offer tokenized stocks in the U.S. through two “innovation exemptions,” prompting companies to fast-track their plans to launch tokenized stock trading platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Bass frequently touts her decision to issue Executive Directive 1, which requires the city to fast-track the approval of 100% affordable housing projects with below-market-rate rents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The decision by Goodman Group follows an announcement by the New South Wales government last month that it would be introducing a fast-track programme for data centres.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

A compost pile is actually a fast-track method of changing crude organic materials into something resembling soil, called humus.

From Organic Gardener's Composting by Steve Solomon

Related Words

• accelerate
• assist
• facilitate
• hasten
• promote
• quicken
• speed
• urge