fast
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- quick, brisk, fleet, flying, hasty, nippy (Brit. informal), rapid, speedy, swift
- fixed, close, fastened, firm, immovable, secure, sound, steadfast, tight
- dissipated, dissolute, extravagant, loose, profligate, reckless, self-indulgent, wanton, wild
[adverb]
Synonyms:
- quickly, hastily, hurriedly, in haste, like lightning, rapidly, speedily, swiftly
- soundly, deeply, firmly, fixedly, securely, tightly
————————
[verb]
Synonyms:
- go hungry, abstain, deny oneself, go without food
[noun]
Synonyms:
- fasting, abstinence

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Antonyms: slow, slowly
Contrasted words: insecure, loose, shaky, unstable, lethargic, logy, poky, sluggish, tardy, torpid, languid, languorous, deliberate, gradual, relaxed, unfirm, weak, free, unattached, unfixed, chaste, decent, decorous, modest, moral, pure, virtuous, deliberately, leisurely, apathetically, lethargically, sluggishly
Related Idioms: quick as lightning, quick as thought, swift as an arrow, stuck fast, no better than one should be, of easy virtue, by leaps and bounds, in a flash, in a twinkling, in nothing flat, in short order, like a bat out of hell, like a blue streak, like a flash, like a house afire, like a shot, like a streak, like greased lightning, like wildfire
Related Words: fixed, held, inextricable, stuck, wedged, active, alert, brisk, keen, lively, careless, heedless, lax, slack, bawdy, indecent, lascivious, lecherous, lewd, libertine, licentious, lickerish, riotous

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English Thesaurus: eat, have, feed on something, consume, munch (on) something, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fast¹ S2 W3 /fɑːst $ fæst/ adverb

1. MOVING QUICKLY moving quickly:
Slow down – you’re driving too fast.
a fast-moving river
Johnny ran off as fast as his legs could carry him (=running as quickly as he could).

2. IN A SHORT TIME happening in a short time:
Kids grow up fast these days.
The survivors needed help fast.
How fast can you get the job done?
fast becoming/disappearing/approaching etc
Access to the Internet is fast becoming a necessity.
It all happened so fast I didn’t even notice I was bleeding.

3. fast asleep sleeping very deeply:
Nick was lying on the sofa, fast asleep.

4. be stuck/held fast to become or be firmly fixed and unable to move:
The boat was stuck fast in the mud.
She tried to pull her hand free, but it was held fast.

5. be getting/be going nowhere fast informal to not succeed in making progress or achieving something:
I kept asking her the same question, but I was getting nowhere fast.

6. not so fast spoken used to tell someone not to be too eager to do or believe something:
Not so fast. We’ve got to prove it first, haven’t we?

7. make something fast to tie something such as a boat or tent firmly to something else

8. fast by something literary very close to something:
fast by the river
⇒ play fast and loose with somebody at play¹(30), ⇒ stand fast at stand¹(25), ⇒ thick and fast at thick²(2)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. fast² S2 W2 adjective
[Language: Old English; Origin: fæst 'firm']

1. MOVING QUICKLY moving or able to move quickly:
a fast car
He’s one of the fastest runners in the world.

2. IN A SHORT TIME doing something or happening in a short time:
The subway is the fastest way to get downtown.
The company must give a faster response to clients’ requests.
The rain forests are being chopped down at an alarmingly fast rate.
I’m a fast learner.

3. CLOCK [not before noun] a clock that is fast shows a later time than the real time:
That can’t be the time – my watch must be fast.
five minutes/an hour etc fast
I always keep my watch 15 minutes fast.

4. fast track a way of achieving something more quickly than is normally done
on the fast track
a young actress on the fast track to fame and success

5. fast road a road on which vehicles can travel very quickly

6. fast film/lens a film or lens(2) that can be used when there is little light, or when photographing something that is moving very quickly

7. COLOUR a colour that is fast will not change when clothes are washed ⇒ colourfast

8. SPORTS a fast surface is one on which a ball moves very quickly

9. fast and furious done very quickly with a lot of effort and energy, or happening very quickly with a lot of sudden changes:
Arsenal’s opening attack was fast and furious.

10. somebody is a fast worker informal used to say that someone can get what they want very quickly, especially in starting a sexual relationship with another person

11. fast talker someone who talks quickly and easily but is often not honest or sincere

12. WOMAN old-fashioned becoming involved quickly in sexual relationships with men:
fast cars and fast women

13. fast friends literary two people who are very friendly for a long time
⇒ fast food, fast-forward, fast lane, ⇒ make a fast buck at buck¹(1), ⇒ pull a fast one at pull¹(10)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. fast³ verb [intransitive]
[Language: Old English; Origin: fæstan]
to eat little or no food for a period of time, especially for religious reasons:
Muslims fast during Ramadan.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

IV. fast⁴ noun [countable]
a period during which someone does not eat, especially for religious reasons:
Gandhi drank some orange juice to break (=end) his three-week fast.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fast
adj., adv.
VERBS be, seem Her pulse seemed very fast.
ADV. exceptionally, extremely, really, remarkably, surprisingly, very I should make a very fast profit on these.
a bit, fairly, a little, pretty, quite, reasonably, relatively I suppose delivery in two days is quite fast really.
amazingly, blindingly, incredibly, unbelievably He came round the corner blindingly fast.
dangerously

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fast
noun
ADJ. long | brief
VERB + FAST go on, keep, observe All members of the religious community keep these fasts.
break In the evening the people break their fast.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

eat to put food in your mouth and chew and swallow it:
Experts recommend eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.
have to eat a particular food:
‘What do you usually have for breakfast?’ ‘I usually just have coffee and toast.’
We had the set meal.
feed on something to eat a particular kind of food – used when talking about animals:
Foxes feed on a wide range of foods including mice, birds, insects, and fruit.
consume written to eat or drink something – used especially in scientific or technical contexts:
Babies consume large amounts relative to their body weight.
munch (on) something to eat something with big continuous movements of your mouth, especially when you are enjoying your food:
He was munching on an apple.
They were sitting on a bench munching their sandwiches.
nibble (on) something to eat something by biting off very small pieces:
If you want a healthy snack, why not just nibble on a carrot?
pick at something to eat only a small amount of your food because you are not hungry or do not like the food:
Lisa was so upset that she could only pick at her food.
stuff/gorge yourself to eat so much food that you cannot eat anything else:
He’s always stuffing himself with cakes.
We gorged ourselves on my mother’s delicious apple tart.
slurp to eat soup, noodles etc with a noisy sucking sound:
In England it’s considered rude to slurp your soup, but in some countries it’s seen as a sign of enjoyment.
gobble something up/down informal to eat something very quickly, especially because you like it very much or you are greedy:
You’ve gobbled up all the ice-cream!
The children gobbled it down in no time.
wolf something down informal to eat food quickly, especially because you are very hungry or in a hurry:
The boy wolfed down everything on his plate and asked for more.
bolt something down British English to eat food very quickly, especially because you are in a hurry:
He bolted down his breakfast and was out of the door within 5 minutes.
You shouldn’t bolt your food down like that.
devour /dɪˈvaʊə $ -ˈvaʊr/ especially written to eat all of something quickly because you are very hungry:
In a very short time, the snake had devoured the whole animal.
be on a diet to be eating less or different food than normal in order to become thinner:
No cake thanks – I’m on a diet.
fast to not eat for a period of time, often for religious reasons:
Muslim people fast during the month of Ramadan.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fast moving or able to move quickly:
The cheetah is the fastest animal in the world.
a fast car
quick moving fast or doing something in a short time:
He was much quicker than I was over the first 100 metres.
Do I have time for a quick shower?
high-speed [only before noun] designed to travel or operate very quickly:
a high-speed train
high-speed Internet access
rapid especially written happening in a short period of time – used about changes, increases, improvements etc:
a rapid increase in the population
the rapid expansion of the firm’s business in the Middle East
a rapid decline in profits
swift written moving quickly or happening after only a short time:
The horses ran along the track at a swift trot.
He received a swift response to his letter.
brisk quick and energetic:
a brisk walk in the countryside
His manner was very brisk.
speedy [only before noun] happening after only a short time:
Everyone wishes you a speedy recovery.
a speedy resolution to the problem
hurried done more quickly that usual, because you do not have much time:
She ate a hurried breakfast in the cafe before catching her train.
We made a hurried departure.
hasty deciding or doing something very quickly, especially when this has bad results:
It was a hasty decision, which he later regretted.
Let’s not be too hasty.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

quick taking only a short time to do something:
I took a quick look at the map.
Do I have time for a quick shower before we go out?
short lasting only a short time:
You can do a short course in diving.
The meeting was shorter than I’d expected.
brief especially written lasting only a short time. Brief is more formal than short, and is used especially in written English:
The President made a brief visit to Buenos Aires.
a brief introduction to Piaget’s ideas
a brief pause in the rain
rapid especially written happening in a short period of time – used about changes, increases, improvements etc:
a rapid increase in crime
the rapid rate of industrial development
speedy happening or done as quickly as possible, especially so that you get the result that you want:
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
The restoration work has been making speedy progress.
prompt done very soon after something else:
Thank you for your prompt reply.
the prompt action of the firefighters
Discounts will be offered for prompt payment.
hasty deciding or doing something very quickly, especially when this has bad results:
It was a hasty decision, which he later regretted.
They had to make a hasty departure.
cursory formal looking at something very quickly without much attention to detail:
Even a cursory glance at these figures shows that there is a problem.
The police conducted a cursory search of the property.
quickly at a high speed or without taking much time:
The stream was flowing quite quickly.
They quickly became friends.
fast at a high speed – used especially when talking about how something moves:
You're driving too fast!
He ran home as fast as he could.
swiftly written quickly:
The government acted swiftly.
She was surprised that he agreed so swiftly.
rapidly quickly – used especially about changes, increases, improvements etc:
The population is growing rapidly.
a rapidly changing world
speedily quickly and therefore efficiently:
All problems were speedily dealt with.
briskly quickly and energetically:
He walked briskly back along the path.
at high/great speed at a very fast speed – used especially in technical descriptions:
The molecules are travelling at great speed.
at a rapid rate especially written quickly – used about changes, increases, improvements etc:
Internet shopping is growing at a rapid rate.
as quick as a flash/in a flash extremely quickly:
As quick as a flash, I was back in my bed and under the covers.
like lightning moving extremely quickly:
Like lightning, the cat darted under the bushes.
flat out especially British English at the fastest speed possible:
The car was going flat out.
He was running flat out.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

quickly at a high speed or without taking much time:
The stream was flowing quite quickly.
They quickly became friends.
fast at a high speed – used especially when talking about how something moves:
You're driving too fast!
He ran home as fast as he could.
quick spoken quickly – used in exclamations or in comparatives:
Quick! There’s a mouse!
swiftly written quickly:
The government acted swiftly.
She was surprised that he agreed so swiftly.
rapidly quickly – used especially about changes, increases, improvements etc:
The population is growing rapidly.
a rapidly changing world
speedily quickly and therefore efficiently:
All problems were speedily dealt with.
briskly quickly and energetically:
He walked briskly back along the path.
at high/great speed at a very fast speed – used especially in technical descriptions:
The molecules are travelling at great speed.
at a rapid rate especially written quickly – used about changes, increases, improvements etc:
Internet shopping is growing at a rapid rate.
as quick as a flash/in a flash extremely quickly:
As quick as a flash, I was back in my bed and under the covers.
like lightning moving extremely quickly:
Like lightning, the cat darted under the bushes.
flat out especially British English at the fastest speed possible:
The car was going flat out.
He was running flat out.
high-speed [only before noun] designed to travel or operate very quickly:
a high-speed train
high-speed Internet access
rapid especially written happening in a short period of time – used about changes, increases, improvements etc:
a rapid increase in the population
the rapid expansion of the firm’s business in the Middle East
a rapid decline in profits
swift written moving quickly or happening after only a short time:
The horses ran along the track at a swift trot.
He received a swift response to his letter.
brisk quick and energetic:
a brisk walk in the countryside
His manner was very brisk.
speedy [only before noun] happening after only a short time:
Everyone wishes you a speedy recovery.
a speedy resolution to the problem
hurried done more quickly that usual, because you do not have much time:
She ate a hurried breakfast in the cafe before catching her train.
We made a hurried departure.
hasty deciding or doing something very quickly, especially when this has bad results:
It was a hasty decision, which he later regretted.
Let’s not be too hasty.
be on a diet to be eating less or different food than normal in order to become thinner:
No cake thanks – I’m on a diet.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fast
̈ɪfɑ:st
See: hard-and-fast , play fast and loose

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲