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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
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Derived Forms
- ˈfaster, noun
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Other Words From
- un·fasting adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of fast1
Origin of fast2
Origin of fast3
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Word History and Origins
Origin of fast1
Origin of fast2
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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
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Synonym Study
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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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