avast
Americanverb
Etymology
Origin of avast
1675–85; perhaps < Dutch houd vast hold fast ( hold 1, fast 1 )
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.
Look, to be honest with you, I am an avast carnivore, but I really adhere to the Southeast Asian model of meat eating.
From Salon • Jul. 3, 2021
He answered questions so unhesitatingly, in such swift accents, that the shorthand reporters had to ask him to avast and go more slowly.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Oh! avast that Frank; come, keep awake, and let's talk."
From Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 3. March 1848 by Conrad, Robert Taylor
There, there, avast with that tale; you've told it to me every night that my heart was heavy this twelvemonth past.
From Confessions Of Con Cregan An Irish Gil Blas by Lever, Charles James
In vain did the old man-o'-war's-man cry out "belay" and "avast."
From The Boy Slaves by Reid, Mayne
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.
