adj

fast

fahst

adj

Moving or able to move at high speed; quick.

"He's the fastest runner on the team."

"They took the fast train to save time."

Fixed firmly in place; not easily moved.

"Make sure the rope is fast before you climb."

adv

Quickly, or with great speed.

"She drove as fast as she safely could."

verb

To go without food, often for religious, health, or medical reasons.

"Many Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan."

"He fasted for 24 hours before the blood test."

noun

A period of abstaining from food.

"She broke her fast with a bowl of soup."

How to Use Fast

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishQuick in speed, or firmly fixed — plus a separate, unrelated sense of deliberately not eating.

Common mistake

The "quick" sense and the "not eating" sense come from the same old root ("firm, secure") but are used completely differently today — don't assume a link in modern meaning.

Common pairings

fast asleep hold fast fast food break a fast fast car

Word Forms

faster comparative, faster comparative, fasted past tense, fasts plural, Fasts plural, fasts plural, fasts singular, fastest superlative, fastest superlative

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

They took the _____ train to save time.

Etymology

From Old English fæst, "firm, secure." The sense of "quick" developed later — the idea was that moving "fast" (firmly, steadily) toward something eventually came to mean moving rapidly, much as we still say "run hard" today.

Antonyms

slow

Related Words

slow sharp quick active stupid instantaneous inactive hyperactive

Rhymes for fast

Ast last cast east mast vast past bast Hast yeast feast least

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