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 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
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.