/ English Dictionary |
FAST
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Synonyms:
fast; fasting
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("fast" is a kind of...):
abstinence (act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fast"):
diet; dieting (the act of restricting your food intake (or your intake of particular foods))
hunger strike (a voluntary fast undertaken as a means of protest)
Ramadan ((Islam) a fast (held from sunrise to sunset) that is carried out during the Islamic month of Ramadan)
Derivation:
fast (abstain from eating)
fast (abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of a photographic lens or emulsion) causing a shortening of exposure time
Example:
a fast lens
Classified under:
Similar:
causative (producing an effect)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause
Example:
fast friends
Synonyms:
fast; firm; loyal; truehearted
Classified under:
Similar:
faithful (steadfast in affection or allegiance)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly
Example:
a fast car
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
hurrying; scurrying (moving with great haste)
immediate; prompt; quick; straightaway (performed with little or no delay)
instant; instantaneous (occurring with no delay)
meteoric (like a meteor in speed or brilliance or transience)
quick; speedy (accomplished rapidly and without delay)
rapid (done or occurring in a brief period of time)
rapid; speedy (characterized by speed; moving with or capable of moving with high speed)
smart (quick and brisk)
winged (very fast; as if with wings)
windy (resembling the wind in speed, force, or variability)
high-speed; high-velocity (operating at high speed)
fleet; swift (moving very fast)
fast-paced (of communication that proceeds rapidly)
fast-breaking (occurring rapidly as a series of events in rapid succession)
express (without unnecessary stops)
double-quick ((of a marching cadence) very quick)
blistering; hot; red-hot (very fast; capable of quick response and great speed)
alacritous (quick and eager)
accelerated (speeded up, as of an academic course)
Also:
hurried (moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste)
sudden (happening without warning or in a short space of time)
Attribute:
fastness; speed; swiftness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)
Antonym:
slow (not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time)
Derivation:
fastness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Example:
the band played a fast fox trot
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
vivace ((of tempo) very fast and lively)
allegro ((of tempo) fast)
allegretto ((of tempo) faster than allegro)
andantino ((of tempo) moderately fast)
presto ((of tempo) very fast)
prestissimo ((of tempo) as fast as possible)
Domain category:
music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)
Antonym:
slow (at a slow tempo)
Derivation:
fastness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later than the correct time
Example:
my watch is fast
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
slow ((used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the correct time)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Example:
the post was still firm after being hit by the car
Synonyms:
fast; firm; immobile
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
fixed (securely placed or fastened or set)
Derivation:
fastness (the quality of being fixed in place as by some firm attachment)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Example:
a fast visit
Synonyms:
fast; flying; quick
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
hurried (moving rapidly or performed quickly or in great haste)
Derivation:
fastness (a rate (usually rapid) at which something happens)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Unrestrained by convention or morality
Example:
fast women
Synonyms:
debauched; degenerate; degraded; dissipated; dissolute; fast; libertine; profligate; riotous
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
immoral (deliberately violating accepted principles of right and wrong)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Resistant to destruction or fading
Example:
fast colors
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
imperviable; impervious (not admitting of passage or capable of being affected)
Sense 10
Meaning:
(of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds
Example:
grass courts are faster than clay
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
smooth (having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Example:
Before the medical exam, you must fast
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "fast" is one way to...):
abstain; desist; refrain (choose not to consume)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fast"):
diet (eat sparingly, for health reasons or to lose weight)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fast; fasting (abstaining from food)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons
Example:
Catholics sometimes fast during Lent
Classified under:
Verbs of eating and drinking
Hypernyms (to "fast" is one way to...):
abstain; desist; refrain (choose not to consume)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fast"):
diet (follow a regimen or a diet, as for health reasons)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Derivation:
fast; fasting (abstaining from food)
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
Example:
fast-opening (or fast-closing) shutters
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
Example:
held tight
Synonyms:
fast; tight
Classified under:
Context examples:
To remedy this, he ate as fast as they; and, so greatly did hunger compel him, he was not above taking what did not belong to him.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
But I say we must buy grub, and they say we must travel light and fast. Also, they say that we can get grub at Charley McKeon's cabin.
(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)
The six scoundrels were sitting grumbling under a sail in the forecastle; ashore we could see the gigs made fast and a man sitting in each, hard by where the river runs in.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
This species is acid fast, nonmotile, acid phosphatase and iron uptake negative and catalase, urease, pyrazinamidase and nicotinamidase positive.
(Mycobacterium scrofulaceum, NCI Thesaurus)
This species is acid fast, grows rapidly on egg medium, is urease, arylsulfatase and nitrate reductase positive, benzamidase and isonicotinamidase negative, and has a relatively low tolerance to cefmetazole and cefoxitin.
(Mycobacterium peregrinum, NCI Thesaurus)
Three days of absolute fast does not improve one’s beauty, Watson.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This species is acid fast, nonmotile, catalase negative, requires haemin for growth and is characterized by exclusively intracellular development.
(Mycobacterium haemophilum, NCI Thesaurus)
This species is acid fast, nonmotile, catalase and urease positive, negative for 3-day arylsulfatase and Tween 80 hydrolysis, and does not reduce nitrate.
(Mycobacterium gordonae, NCI Thesaurus)
Fast fatigue-resistant fibers, also called red fibers, have a large mitochondrial content and a high myoglobin content, related to their resistance to fatigue.
(Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
This species is acid fast, catalase positive, niacin, peroxidase, nitrate reductase, and urease negative, and may be susceptible to pnitrobenzoate, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, rifampin, and streptomycin.
(Mycobacterium avium, NCI Thesaurus)