fast lane

See synonyms for fast lane on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called express lane. the lane of a multilane roadway that is used by fast-moving vehicles, as when passing slower traffic.

  2. Informal. any scene, activity, or pursuit that is exciting, high-pressured, competitive, swift-moving, and sometimes dissipated or dangerous: Alcoholism and stress are often the price for living life in the fast lane.

Origin of fast lane

1
First recorded in 1965–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fast lane in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fast lane

fast lane

noun
  1. the outside lane on a motorway or dual carriageway for vehicles overtaking or travelling at high speed

  2. informal the quickest but most competitive route to success

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with fast lane

fast lane

Also, life in the fast lane. A lifestyle that involves free spending and self-indulgence, and sometimes also dissipation and danger. For example, They're finding that life in the fast lane can be very stressful. This term alludes to the highway express lane used by faster vehicles to pass slower ones. [Colloquial; c. 1970] Also see fast track.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.