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fast¹ Definition

fast (fast, fäst)

adjective

  1. not easily moved, freed, or separated; firm, fixed, or stuck the ship was fast on the rocks
  2. firmly fastened or shut make the shutters fast
  3. loyal; devoted fast friends
  4. that will not fade fast colors
  5. rapid in movement or action; swift; quick; speedy
  6. permitting or facilitating swift movement a fast highway
  7. taking or lasting a short time a fast lunch
  8. showing or keeping to a time in advance of a standard or scheduled time his watch is fast
    1. living in a reckless, wild, dissipated way a fast crowd
    2. promiscuous sexually
  10. ☆ Informal glib and deceptive a fast talker
  11. Slang acting, gotten, done, etc. quickly and often dishonestly out for a fast buck
  12. Bacteriology resistant to dissolution or decolorization, as certain bacteria
  13. Photog. adapted to or allowing very short exposure time a fast lens, fast film
  14. Now Dial. complete; sound a fast sleep

Etymology: ME < OE fæst, akin to Ger fest, firm, stable < IE base *pasto-, fixed, secure > Arm hast

adverb

  1. firmly; fixedly
  2. thoroughly; soundly fast asleep
  3. rapidly; swiftly; quickly; speedily
  4. ahead of time
  5. in a reckless, dissipated way; wildly
  6. Old Poet., Obsolete close; near fast by the river

Etymology: ME faste < OE fæste < adj.

noun

Naut. a rope for mooring a stern fast

fast¹ Idioms

a fast one

☆

Slang a deceptive act to pull a fast one on someone

play fast and loose

to behave with reckless duplicity or insincerity

fast² Definition

fast (fast, fäst)

intransitive verb

  1. to abstain from all or certain foods, as in observing a holy day
  2. to eat very little or nothing

Etymology: ME fasten < OE fæstan, akin to Ger fasten, Goth fastan, lit., hold fast < base of fast

noun

  1. the act of fasting
  2. a day or period of fasting

fast² Idioms

break one's fast

to eat food for the first time after fasting, or for the first time in the day

fast Synonyms

fast

modif.

  1. Rapid

    swift, fleet, quick, speedy, brisk, flying, expeditious, express, accelerated, hasty, nimble, winged, mercurial, lightninglike, flashing, swift-footed, hypersonic, high-speed, active, electric, agile, ready, dashing, swift as an arrow, quick as lightning, like a flash, quick as thought, racing, fleeting, up-tempo, hurried, precipitate, breakneck, headlong, like a bat out of hell*, lickety-split*, like a house afire*, hellbent*, on the double*, at warp speed*.

    Antonyms slow*, sluggish*, tardy. *

  2. Firmly fixed

    secure, attached, immovable; see firm 1.

  3. Promiscuous

    wanton, loose, wild, flirtatious; see lewd 2.

  4. Permanent in color

    fadeproof, colorfast, durable, lasting, washable, vat-dyed, indelible, waterproof, fade-resistant.

play fast and loose (with)*

behave recklessly, run wild, be careless; see deceive, misbehave.

fast Synonyms

fast

n.

abstinence, fast day, Lent, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, banyan day, xerophagy, anorexia, hunger strike.

fast and rapid are generally interchangeable in expressing the idea of a relatively high rate of movement or action, but fast more often refers to the person or thing that moves or acts, and rapid to the action a fast typist, rapid transcription; swift implies great rapidity, but in addition often connotes smooth, easy movement; fleet suggests a nimbleness or lightness in that which moves swiftly; quick implies promptness of action, or occurrence in a brief amount of time, rather than velocity a quick reply; speedy intensifies the idea of quickness, but may also connote high velocity a speedy recovery, a speedy flight; hasty suggests hurried action and may connote carelessness, rashness, or impatience

fast Synonyms

fast

v.

abstain from food, forbear eating, not eat, go hungry, starve, observe a fast, diet.

FAST (Framed ATM over SONET/SDH Transport) Telecom Definition

A specification from the ATM Forum (July 2000) that defines the mechanisms and procedures required to support the transport of variable-length New York Seattle Terminals Front-End Processor Mainframe host datagrams, known as ATM frames, over an ATM infrastructure using SONET/SDH facilities. FAST is similar to Data Exchange Interface (DXI) and Frame User Network Interface (FUNI), which are designed for access to an ATM network over relatively low-speed plesiochronous transmission facilities. FAST, however, is designed for access and/or inter-switch trunking over very high speed SONET/SDH transmission facilities. See also ATM, ATM Forum, datagram, DXI, frame, FUNI, plesiochronous, SDH, and SONET.

fast Usage Examples

Object

  • sample: It does not have to be measured on a fasting sample of blood.
  • level: Every two years, nurses carried out thorough clinical examinations ( including blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose levels, body mass index ).

Modifying Another Word

  • extremely: Pegasus Aviation Pegasus make the rag and tube AX2000 range, plus the extremely fast, very pretty and alarmingly expensive fully composite CT2K.
  • very: Above everything else, of course, he brings his own talent; we all know he's a very fast driver.
  • significantly: The June release is significantly faster and has improved memory handling.
  • slightly: Overall, domestic prices are expected to fall at a slightly faster rate over the next four months than the last.
  • much: Equipment is now available, however, which will allow much faster processing with digital equipment.
  • furiously: Speed across 6 exciting tracks in this furiously fast n ' frantic racing game.

Modifies a noun

  • lap: He finished 14th - setting the second fastest lap of the race.
  • pace: The Chinese economy is joining the globalization of the world economy at a fast pace.
  • bowler: A COUPLE OF years ago, Lee aspired to be the fastest bowler in the history of the game.
  • track: Each of these have long, fast rough tracks with large dikes either side.
  • speed: However these are the fastest possible speeds based on how busy your local ADSL exchange is.
  • turnaround: We offer a fast turnaround of professionally prepared copy, from any rough draft or submitted text.

Used with adjective complement

  • grow: Is trade in services growing faster than trade in goods?
  • swim: Whether you're into swimming or not, " Swimming slower to swim faster " , an interesting book never the less.
  • expand: Initiatives and projects DLR extensions The award-winning Docklands Light Railroad has expanded faster than any UK railroad to cope with demand.
  • run: Yorkshireman Harris, three times the British Supersport champion, made a good impression, running fourth fastest on his Honda overall.
  • get: The program got faster, easier to use and install and includes some new features.

Preposition: in

practice: Nigel Longton's D'Oh team from Barclays Capital were actually second fastest in practice.