definitions

vast

[ vast, vahst ]
/ væst, vɑst /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vast ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, vast·er, vast·est.

of very great area or extent; immense: the vast reaches of outer space.
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

Literary. an immense or boundless expanse or space.

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RELATED WORDS

far-flung, colossal, far-reaching, huge, tremendous, broad, immense, boundless, spacious, extensive, ample, big, limitless, unlimited, great, infinite, endless, enormous, monumental, mammoth

Nearby words

vassalage, vassalic, vassalize, vassar, vassar, matthew, vast, vasthi, vastitude, vastity, vastly, vastus

Origin of vast

First recorded in 1565–75, vast is from the Latin word vastus empty, immense
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vaster

British Dictionary definitions for vaster

vast

/ (vɑːst) /

adjective

unusually large in size, extent, degree, or number; immense
(prenominal) (intensifier)in vast haste

noun

the vast mainly poetic immense or boundless space
British dialect a very great amount or number
Derived Formsvastity, nounvastly, adverbvastness, noun

Word Origin for vast

C16: from Latin vastus deserted
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

Word Origin and History for vaster

vast

adj.

1570s, from Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus "immense, extensive, huge," also "desolate, unoccupied, empty." The two meanings probably originally attached to two separate words, one with a long -a- one with a short -a-, that merged in early Latin (see waste). Very popular early 18c. as an intensifier. Related: Vastly; vastness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper