fast
1 Americanadjective
-
faster,
comparative
-
fastest
superlative
-
moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast pain reliever;
a fast horse;
a fast pain reliever;
a fast thinker.
- Antonyms:
- slow
-
done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time: fast work.
a fast race;
fast work.
- Antonyms:
- slow
-
(of time)
-
indicating a time in advance of the correct time, as of a clock.
-
noting or according to daylight-saving time.
-
-
adapted to, allowing, productive of, or imparting rapid movement: one of the fastest pitchers in baseball.
a hull with fast lines;
one of the fastest pitchers in baseball.
-
characterized by unrestrained conduct or lack of moral conventions, especially in sexual relations; wanton; loose.
Some young people in that era were considered fast, if not downright promiscuous.
- Synonyms:
- prodigal, wild, immoral, profligate, dissolute, dissipated
- Antonyms:
- restrained
-
characterized by hectic activity.
leading a fast life.
- Antonyms:
- restrained
-
resistant.
acid-fast.
-
firmly fixed in place; not easily moved; securely attached.
- Antonyms:
- loose
-
held or caught firmly, so as to be unable to escape or be extricated.
an animal fast in a trap.
- Synonyms:
- inextricable
-
firmly tied, as a knot.
-
closed and made secure, as a door, gate, or shutter.
-
such as to hold securely.
to lay fast hold on a thing.
-
firm in adherence; loyal; devoted.
fast friends.
-
permanent, lasting, or unchangeable: a hard and fast rule.
a fast color;
a hard and fast rule.
- Synonyms:
- enduring
-
Informal.
-
(of money, profits, etc.) made quickly or easily and sometimes deviously.
He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage.
-
cleverly quick and manipulative in making money.
a fast operator when it comes to closing a business deal.
-
-
Photography.
-
(of a lens) able to transmit a relatively large amount of light in a relatively short time.
-
(of a film) requiring a relatively short exposure time to attain a given density.
-
-
Horse Racing.
-
(of a track condition) completely dry.
-
(of a track surface) very hard.
-
adverb
-
quickly, swiftly, or rapidly.
-
in quick succession.
Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis.
-
to hold fast.
- Synonyms:
- tenaciously, fixedly, securely
-
fast asleep.
-
in a wild or dissipated way.
- Synonyms:
- prodigally, wildly, recklessly
-
ahead of the correct or announced time.
-
Archaic. close; near.
fast by.
noun
idioms
-
pull a fast one, to play an unfair trick; practice deceit.
He tried to pull a fast one on us by switching the cards.
-
play fast and loose. play.
verb (used without object)
-
fasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fasted,
past participle, past
-
fasting
present participle
-
to abstain from all food.
-
to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially as a religious observance.
verb (used with object)
-
fasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fasted,
past participle, past
-
fasting
present participle
noun
-
an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, especially when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.
-
a day or period of fasting.
noun
adjective
-
acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly; swift
-
accomplished in or lasting a short time
fast work
a fast visit
-
(prenominal) adapted to or facilitating rapid movement
the fast lane of a motorway
-
requiring rapidity of action or movement
a fast sport
-
(of a clock, etc) indicating a time in advance of the correct time
-
given to an active dissipated life
-
of or characteristic of such activity
a fast life
-
not easily moved; firmly fixed; secure
-
firmly fastened, secured, or shut
-
steadfast; constant (esp in the phrase fast friends )
-
sport (of a playing surface, running track, etc) conducive to rapid speed, as of a ball used on it or of competitors playing or racing on it
-
that will not fade or change colour readily
a fast dye
-
-
proof against fading
the colour is fast to sunlight
-
( in combination )
washfast
-
-
photog
-
requiring a relatively short time of exposure to produce a given density
a fast film
-
permitting a short exposure time
a fast shutter
-
-
cricket (of a bowler) characteristically delivering the ball rapidly
-
informal glib or unreliable; deceptive
a fast talker
-
archaic sound; deep
a fast sleep
-
informal a deceptive or unscrupulous trick (esp in the phrase pull a fast one )
-
a person who achieves results quickly, esp in seductions
adverb
-
quickly; rapidly
-
soundly; deeply
fast asleep
-
firmly; tightly
-
in quick succession
-
in advance of the correct time
my watch is running fast
-
in a reckless or dissipated way
-
archaic close or hard by; very near
-
informal to behave in an insincere or unreliable manner
interjection
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See quick.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fastsimple
-
fastssimple
-
have fastedperfect
-
has fastedperfect
-
am fastingprogressive
-
are fastingprogressive
-
is fastingprogressive
-
have been fastingperfect progressive
-
has been fastingperfect progressive
Past
-
fastedsimple
-
had fastedperfect
-
was fastingprogressive
-
were fastingprogressive
-
had been fastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fast1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English fæst “firm”; cognate with Dutch vast, Old Norse fastr “firm,” German fest; akin to fast 2
Origin of fast2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English fasten, festen, Old English fæstan; cognate with German fasten, Gothic fastan, Old Norse fasta
Origin of fast3
First recorded in 1670–80; alteration, by association with fast 1 ( def. ) (in the sense “firmly tied”), of late Middle English fest “fastening, mooring rope,” from Old Norse festr “mooring rope, cable,” from Old Norse fastr “fixed, firm”; cf. fasten, fast 1
Explanation
When you see fast, you might think of Olympic runner Usain "Lightning" Bolt or a Porsche 911 Turbo. Alternatively, and quite confusingly, fast also means to refrain from eating for a certain period, usually for religious reasons. Fast is another of those deceptively simple words that have a number of other meanings beyond their most common usages. If something "sticks fast" it means it cannot be removed — like a leech or a stain. "To stand fast" means not to give up your point of view or to remain loyal. Then there's also the slang meaning of living beyond the constraints of normal behavior — as in "the fast life," "the fast track," or "the fast lane."
Vocabulary lists containing fast
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Case Keenum reads the defense and gets the ball out fast; coach Ben Johnson’s offense is strong, and the defense is generating turnovers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
He said this demonstrated "that all levels of government need to act fast and need to act together in partnership" to tackle this pollution.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
Given the risk of Russian reconnaissance, the plan is to “get in, get armed, and get in the air” fast, Leon says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Coming off the four medications took months, and I went too fast.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
I moved as fast as I could and I wish I could have moved faster.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Priorities: Payne wants to make community colleges “cheaper, faster, better” in part by offering students more training for specific jobs and less expensive online textbooks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
That left glaciers vulnerable to melting even faster in subsequent heatwaves.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Dunmoyer believes the measure would make the review process faster and easier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
By the way, faster economic growth has buoyed tax revenue, which increased 3% during the first 11 months of this fiscal year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Andre’s voice grows louder and faster in excitement.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
He won the European Golden Shoe in his debut season, the first Englishman since Kevin Phillips to do so, and is the fastest player in Bundesliga history to hit a century of goals.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
But both are growing at their fastest since 2006, excluding the pandemic years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
The annual rate hit 3.3 percent in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, the fastest pace since December 2023, according to preliminary data from the statistics agency Destatis.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
If completed as scheduled, it will be the fastest trip to the International Space Station by a U.S. spacecraft in the station's history.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Savannah was the fastest counter, and this boy Jacob was the slowest.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Some fasts last only hours; others are carefully staged media spectacles with banners, platforms and live television coverage.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
The streets were busy with shoppers who had broken their fasts ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Still, scientists have had only a limited understanding of exactly how the body responds during longer fasts.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2026
Bonta, who intermittently fasts and tries not to eat before noon, was sticking to black coffee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2025
He was a silent, brooding man, given to fasts and contemplation, going often, alone, into the caves of the mountains, in the section of Virginia where he lived.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Between 1918 and his assassination in 1948, Gandhi fasted repeatedly - against religious violence, caste discrimination and political discord - turning the empty plate into one of the defining symbols of India's freedom struggle.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
He said that he did go to the mosque every Friday, and that he prayed and fasted and raised his children to be good Muslims.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
These individuals typically ate their first meal after 14:00 and fasted for about 17 hours.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2026
Chavez and his cause earned international attention, especially after he fasted for 36 days in 1968, ending it by sharing bread with then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
We fasted for three days, longer than we ever had before.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
The research was led by kinesiology and nutrition professor Krista Varady, a longtime researcher in the field of intermittent fasting.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
In late 2022, Elon Musk posted that he lost 30 pounds by fasting and taking semaglutide.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
People who lowered their protein intake lost weight and body fat and showed improvements in fasting blood sugar, despite often consuming more total calories.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
India's activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended a hunger strike after 26 days of fasting in support of youth-led protesters demanding education reforms.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
He was like some shaman fasting during a particularly arduous and prolonged mystical rite.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
