- moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast horse;a fast pain reliever;a fast thinker.
- done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time: a fast race;fast work.
- (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: 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.
- characterized by hectic activity: leading a fast life.
- resistant: acid-fast.
- firmly fixed in place; not easily moved; securely attached.
- held or caught firmly, so as to be unable to escape or be extricated: an animal fast in a trap.
- 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.
- firm in adherence; loyal; devoted: fast friends.
- permanent, lasting, or unchangeable: a fast color;a hard and fast rule.
- 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.
- quickly, swiftly, or rapidly.
- in quick succession: Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis.
- tightly; firmly: to hold fast.
- soundly: fast asleep.
- in a wild or dissipated way.
- ahead of the correct or announced time.
- close; near:fast by.
- a fastening for a door, window, or the like.
- play (def. 80).
- to play an unfair trick; practice deceit: He tried to pull a fast one on us by switching the cards.
- to abstain from all food.
- to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, especially as a religious observance.
- to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery.
- 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.
- a chain or rope for mooring a vessel.
- acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly; swift
- accomplished in or lasting a short time
- adapted to or facilitating rapid movement
- requiring rapidity of action or movement
- (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
- not easily moved; firmly fixed; secure
- firmly fastened, secured, or shut
- steadfast; constant (esp in the phrase fast friends)
- (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
- proof against fading
- (in combination)
- photog
- requiring a relatively short time of exposure to produce a given density
- permitting a short exposure time
- (of a bowler) characteristically delivering the ball rapidly
- glib or unreliable; deceptive
- sound; deep
- a deceptive or unscrupulous trick (esp in the phrase pull a fast one)
- a person who achieves results quickly, esp in seductions
- quickly; rapidly
- soundly; deeply
- firmly; tightly
- in quick succession
- in advance of the correct time
- in a reckless or dissipated way
- close or hard by; very near
- to behave in an insincere or unreliable manner
- (said by the field captain to archers) stop shooting!
- to abstain from eating all or certain foods or meals, esp as a religious observance
- an act or period of fasting
- (as modifier)
