[fast, fahst] 
adjective, -er, -est, adverb, -er, -est, noun | 1. | moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast horse; a fast pain reliever; a fast thinker. |
| 2. | done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time: a fast race; fast work. |
| 3. | (of time)
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| 4. | adapted to, allowing, productive of, or imparting rapid movement: a hull with fast lines; one of the fastest pitchers in baseball. |
| 5. | characterized by unrestrained conduct or lack of moral conventions, esp. in sexual relations; wanton; loose: Some young people in that era were considered fast, if not downright promiscuous. |
| 6. | characterized by hectic activity: leading a fast life. |
| 7. | resistant: acid-fast. |
| 8. | firmly fixed in place; not easily moved; securely attached. |
| 9. | held or caught firmly, so as to be unable to escape or be extricated: an animal fast in a trap. |
| 10. | firmly tied, as a knot. |
| 11. | closed and made secure, as a door, gate, or shutter. |
| 12. | such as to hold securely: to lay fast hold on a thing. |
| 13. | firm in adherence; loyal; devoted: fast friends. |
| 14. | permanent, lasting, or unchangeable: a fast color; a hard and fast rule. |
| 15. | Informal.
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| 16. | Photography.
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| 17. | Horse Racing.
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| 18. | quickly, swiftly, or rapidly. |
| 19. | in quick succession: Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis. |
| 20. | tightly; firmly: to hold fast. |
| 21. | soundly: fast asleep. |
| 22. | in a wild or dissipated way. |
| 23. | ahead of the correct or announced time. |
| 24. | Archaic. close; near: fast by. |
| 25. | a fastening for a door, window, or the like. |
| 26. | play fast and loose. play (def. 80). |
| 27. | 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. |
[fast, fahst] | 1. | to abstain from all food. |
| 2. | to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, esp. as a religious observance. |
| 3. | to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery. |
| 4. | an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, esp. when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting. |
| 5. | a day or period of fasting. |
| fast 1 (fāst) adj. fast·er, fast·est
[Middle English, from Old English fæst, firm, fixed; see past- in Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: These adjectives refer to something marked by great speed. Fast and rapid are often used interchangeably, though fast is more often applied to the person or thing in motion, and rapid, to the activity or movement involved: a fast runner; rapid strides. |
| fast 2 (fāst) intr.v. fast·ed, fast·ing, fasts
[Middle English fasten, from Old English fæstan; see past- in Indo-European roots.] |
fast 1 (fāst)
adj. fast·er, fast·est
Acting, moving, or being capable of acting or moving quickly.
Accomplished in relatively little time.
Exhibiting resistance to change. Used especially of stained microorganisms that cannot be decolorized.
Firmly fixed or fastened.
fast 2
v. fast·ed, fast·ing, fasts
To abstain from food.
To eat little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.
The act or practice of abstaining from or eating very little food.
A period of such abstention or self-denial.
FAST
1.
Fast
The sole fast required by the law of Moses was that of the great Day of Atonement (q.v.), Lev. 23:26-32. It is called "the fast" (Acts 27:9). The only other mention of a periodical fast in the Old Testament is in Zech. 7:1-7; 8:19, from which it appears that during their captivity the Jews observed four annual fasts. (1.) The fast of the fourth month, kept on the seventeenth day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; to commemorate also the incident recorded Ex. 32:19. (Comp. Jer. 52:6, 7.) (2.) The fast of the fifth month, kept on the ninth of Ab (comp. Num. 14:27), to commemorate the burning of the city and temple (Jer. 52:12, 13). (3.) The fast of the seventh month, kept on the third of Tisri (comp. 2 Kings 25), the anniversary of the murder of Gedaliah (Jer. 41:1, 2). (4.) The fast of the tenth month (comp. Jer. 52:4; Ezek. 33:21; 2 Kings 25:1), to commemorate the beginning of the siege of the holy city by Nebuchadnezzar. There was in addition to these the fast appointed by Esther (4:16). Public national fasts on account of sin or to supplicate divine favour were sometimes held. (1.) 1 Sam. 7:6; (2.) 2 Chr. 20:3; (3.) Jer. 36:6-10; (4.) Neh. 9:1. There were also local fasts. (1.) Judg. 20:26; (2.) 2 Sam. 1:12; (3.) 1 Sam. 31:13; (4.) 1 Kings 21:9-12; (5.) Ezra 8:21-23: (6.) Jonah 3:5-9. There are many instances of private occasional fasting (1 Sam. 1:7: 20:34; 2 Sam. 3:35; 12:16; 1 Kings 21:27; Ezra 10:6; Neh. 1:4; Dan. 10:2,3). Moses fasted forty days (Ex. 24:18; 34:28), and so also did Elijah (1 Kings 19:8). Our Lord fasted forty days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:2). In the lapse of time the practice of fasting was lamentably abused (Isa. 58:4; Jer. 14:12; Zech. 7:5). Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocritical pretences in fasting (Matt. 6:16). He himself appointed no fast. The early Christians, however, observed the ordinary fasts according to the law of their fathers (Acts 13:3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:5).
fast
In addition to the idioms beginning with fast, also see get nowhere (fast); hard and fast; pull a fast one; stand one's ground (fast); thick and fast.
FAST
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