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fast
1[ fast, fahst ]
adjective
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.
Synonyms: firm, immovable, tight, secure
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.
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
- a fastening for a door, window, or the like.
fast
2[ fast, fahst ]
verb (used without object)
- to abstain from all food.
- to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially as a religious observance.
verb (used with object)
- to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast:
to fast a patient for a day before surgery.
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.
fast
3[ fast, fahst ]
noun
- a chain or rope for mooring a vessel.
fast
1/ fɑːst /
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 )
- fast workera 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
- fast by or fast beside archaic.close or hard by; very near
- play fast and loose informal.to behave in an insincere or unreliable manner
interjection
- archery (said by the field captain to archers) stop shooting!
fast
2/ fɑːst /
verb
- intr to abstain from eating all or certain foods or meals, esp as a religious observance
noun
- an act or period of fasting
- ( as modifier )
a fast day
Derived Forms
- ˈfaster, noun
Other Words From
- un·fasting adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of fast1
Origin of fast2
Origin of fast3
Word History and Origins
Origin of fast1
Origin of fast2
Idioms and Phrases
- pull a fast one, Informal. 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 ( def 80 ).
More idioms and phrases containing fast
- get nowhere (fast)
- hard and fast
- pull a fast one
- stand one's ground (fast)
- thick and fast
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
“When the stakes are high, go slow, but in Silicon Valley, it’s ‘move fast and break things,’” Pace said.
Hamilton has been quick all weekend and was fastest in the second session of qualifying and second behind Russell in the first.
Australia seamer Mitchell Starc tells India's Harshit Rana that he bowls faster than him and he has a "long memory" after a short ball on day two of the first Test in Perth.
Unified’s graduation rate is rising faster than in the state as a whole — a consistent theme for L.A.
"Our hope is that this method will accelerate the pipeline for mRNA therapeutics and vaccines, bringing new treatments to patients faster than ever before," says Mitchell.
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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.
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