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fast

Pronunciation: /fɑːst/

The English word “fast” has 20 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.
  2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.
  3. Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).)
  4. Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid; light.
  5. Having a kinetic energy between 1 million and 20 million electron volts; often used to describe the energy state of free neutrons at the moment of their release by a nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction (i.e., before the neutrons have been slowed down by anything).
  6. Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.
  7. Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.
  8. Able to transfer data in a short period of time.
  9. Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).
  10. Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.
  11. Tenacious; retentive.
  12. Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.
  13. Uncharacteristically mature or promiscuous for one's age.
  14. Ahead of the correct time or schedule.
  15. More sensitive to light than average.

noun

  1. A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations.

adverb

  1. In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved; safe, sound .
  2. Deeply or soundly .
  3. Immediately following in place or time; close, very near .
  4. Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .

Etymology

From Middle English fast, fest, from Old English fæst (“firm, secure”), from Proto-West Germanic *fast, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz; see it for cognates and further etymology. The development of “rapid” from an original sense of “secure” apparently happened first in the adverb and then transferred to the adjective; compare hard in expressions like “to run hard”. The original sense of “secure,…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.