fast forward

[ fast-fawr-werd, fahst- ]
See synonyms for fast forward on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a function of an audio or video recorder or player, as a cassette deck or DVR, that allows the content to be advanced rapidly.

  2. the button or other control that activates this function.

Other definitions for fast-forward (2 of 2)

fast-forward
[ fast-fawr-werd, fahst- ]

verb (used with or without object)
  1. to advance an audio or video recording rapidly: I always fast-forward through the TV ads that get recorded on my DVR.

  2. to skip over a period of time and arrive at a future point in the timeline, especially in narration: Fast-forward six months, she’s gotten engaged and is moving to Europe!

Origin of fast-forward

2
First recorded in 1945–50

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

How to use fast forward in a sentence

  • Then a plank was run out, a line made fast forward, and Perkins climbed the bank and greeted Mrs. Browne.

    Duffels | Edward Eggleston
  • Here she was now fixed hard and fast forward, with her forefoot high and dry, although there was deep water under her stern aft.

    Afloat at Last | John Conroy Hutcheson
  • The sail may be made up on the forecastle, and the end of the tack and halyards made fast forward, if it is to be soon set again.

    The Seaman's Friend | Richard Henry Dana
  • The other end of the spare anchor-rope, to which the stuff was tied, was yet to be made fast forward.

    The Rival Campers Afloat | Ruel Perley Smith
  • And she touched her horse with the spur, and cantered fast forward, leaving the little house behind.

    McClure's Magazine December, 1895 | Edited by Ida M. Tarbell

British Dictionary definitions for fast-forward

fast-forward

noun
  1. (sometimes not hyphenated) the control on a tape deck or video recorder used to wind the tape or video forward at speed

  2. informal a state of urgency or rapid progress: my mind went into fast forward

verb
  1. (tr) to wind (a video or tape) forward using the fast-forward control

  2. to deal with speedily: fast-forward the trials of the new drug

  1. (intr) to move forward through a tape or video using the fast-forward control

  2. (usually foll by to) to direct one's attention towards a particular time or event, ignoring intervening material: fast-forward to the summer of 2008

Origin of fast-forward

1
C20: from the fast-forward wind control in a tape deck

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