fast: Meaning and Definition of

fast

Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]
— adj., adv., n. -er, -est, -er, -est,
—adj.
  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)
    1. indicating a time in advance of the correct time, as of a clock.
    2. noting or according to daylight-saving time.
  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. He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage.
    1. (of money, profits, etc.) made quickly or easily and sometimes deviously:He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage.
    2. cleverly quick and manipulative in making money:a fast operator when it comes to closing a business deal.
    1. (of a lens) able to transmit a relatively large amount of light in a relatively short time.
    2. (of a film) requiring a relatively short exposure time to attain a given density.
    1. (of a track condition) completely dry.
    2. (of a track surface) very hard.
  16. to play an unfair trick; practice deceit: He tried to pull a fast one on us by switching the cards.
—adv.
  1. quickly, swiftly, or rapidly.
  2. in quick succession: Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis.
  3. tightly; firmly: to hold fast.
  4. soundly: fast asleep.
  5. in a wild or dissipated way.
  6. ahead of the correct or announced time.
  7. close; near: fast by.
  8. See(def. 76).
—n.
  1. a fastening for a door, window, or the like.

fast

Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]
— v.i.
  1. to abstain from all food.
  2. to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, esp. as a religious observance.
—v.t.
  1. to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery.
—n.
  1. an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, esp. when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.
  2. a day or period of fasting.

fast

Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]
— n.
  1. a chain or rope for mooring a vessel.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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