vast
Americanadjective
-
of very great area or extent; immense.
the vast reaches of outer space.
- Synonyms:
- stupendous, colossal, gigantic, boundless, measureless
- Antonyms:
- small
-
of very great size or proportions; huge; enormous.
vast piles of rubble left in the wake of the war.
-
very great in number, quantity, amount, etc..
vast sums of money.
-
very great in degree, intensity, etc..
an artisan of vast skill.
noun
adjective
-
unusually large in size, extent, degree, or number; immense
-
(prenominal) (intensifier)
in vast haste
noun
-
poetic immense or boundless space
-
dialect a very great amount or number
Other Word Forms
- supervast adjective
- vastity noun
- vastly adverb
- vastness noun
Etymology
Origin of vast
First recorded in 1565–75, from Latin vastus “empty, immense”
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.
The large dark regions that form the "seas" of the Man in the Moon are actually vast impact basins created during a period of intense collisions that ended around 3.8 billion years ago.
From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026
Cereal plants absorb the vast majority of their nitrogen needs during their early growth.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026
During one orbit, Anders captured Earth's brilliant blue hue standing out against the vast darkness of space and accentuated by the desolate, grey lunar horizon in the foreground.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
An LLM analyses vast quantities of text and data that already exists on the internet, and uses it to learn patterns in how ideas are expressed.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
As he watched, it spread vast scaled wings and took flight, flapping above the tree line.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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.
