fast

fast¹ W3S2 [fa:st US fæst] adv

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1¦(moving quickly)¦

2¦(in a short time)¦

3 fast asleep

4 be stuck/held fast

5 be getting/be going nowhere fast

6 not so fast

7 fast by something

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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.) fast by sth

literary very close to something

▪ fast by the river

→play fast and loose with sb at ↑play¹ (30), stand fast at ↑stand¹ (25), thick and fast at ↑thick² (2)

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WORD FOCUS: fast

moving very quickly: at high speed, like lightning, at top speed, flat out

doing something quickly: quick, rapid, swift, prompt, speedy

happening quickly: rapid, speedy, meteoric, at an alarming rate, in no time

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fast ²

fast² W2S2 adj

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1¦(moving quickly)¦

2¦(in a short time)¦

3¦(clock)¦

4 fast track

5 fast road

6 fast film/lens

7¦(colour)¦

8¦(sports)¦

9 fast and furious

10 somebody is a fast worker

11 fast talker

12¦(woman)¦

13 make something fast

14 fast friends

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[: Old English; Origin: fAst '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 rainforests 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 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.) sb 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.) make sth fast

to tie something such as a boat or tent firmly to something else

14.) 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)

fast ³

fast³ v

[: Old English; Origin: fAstan]

to eat little or no food for a period of time, especially for religious reasons

▪ Muslims fast during Ramadan.

fast ⁴

fast⁴ [i]n

a period during which someone does not eat, especially for religious reasons

▪ Gandhi drank some orange juice to break (=end) his three-week fast .