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What is "fast"

Crossword clues for fast

fast
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
fast
I.adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a clock is fast/slow (=shows a later or earlier time than the real time)
▪ There’s no need to hurry – that clock’s fast.
a faster/slower rate
▪ The urban population has grown at a faster rate than the rural population.
a quick/fast exit (=done more quickly than usual)
▪ I made a quick exit before the speeches began.
a quick/fast learner (=someone who learns things quickly)
▪ She was a quick learner, and her English got better day by day.
a shade better/quicker/faster etc
▪ The results were a shade better than we expected.
a shade too big/hot/fast etc
▪ Matt’s clothes were just a shade too big for me.
a slow/fast reader
▪ Her son was quite a slow reader.
an express train/a fast train (=one that does not stop at many places)
▪ He boarded the express train to London.
breathe fast/rapidly (=breathe quickly because of illness, fear etc)
▪ He closed his eyes, breathing fast under the fever.
fast and furious
▪ The action is fast and furious.
fast breeder reactor
fast day
fast food
fast lane
▪ Brenda is a lady who loves life in the fast lane.
fast track
▪ Many saw independence as the fast track to democracy.
fast/fast-flowing
▪ Fast-flowing currents made the rescue job even harder.
fast/slow etc grower
▪ Bamboo is a very vigorous grower.
fast/slow moving etc
▪ Be careful when changing lanes in fast-moving traffic.
fast/sound asleep (=sleeping deeply)
getting...nowhere fast (=was not helping me achieve anything)
▪ I soon realized that being tough was getting me nowhere fast.
life in the fast lane
▪ Brenda is a lady who loves life in the fast lane.
make a fast/quick buck (=make some money quickly, often dishonestly)
move fast/quickly/swiftly
▪ You’ll have to move fast if you want to get a place on the course.
pull a fast one (=deceive you)
▪ He was trying to pull a fast one when he told you he’d paid.
rapid/fast
▪ Symptoms include a rapid pulse and dry skin.
rapid/fast
▪ The rapid pace of change creates uncertainty.
rapidly/quickly/fast
▪ House prices rose rapidly last year.
sb’s watch is fast/runs fast (=it shows a later time)
▪ No, it’s only 12.15 – your watch must be fast.
sb’s watch is fast/runs fast (=it shows a later time)
▪ No, it’s only 12.15 – your watch must be fast.
sinking fast (=getting weaker and about to die)
▪ The doctor said that the boy was sinking fast.
stuck fast (=stuck completely)
▪ The wheels stuck fast in the mud.
the fast/slow lane
▪ Cars in the fast lane were travelling at over 80 miles an hour.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
asleep
▪ From the sound of his rhythmic breathing, Loretta could tell he was fast asleep.
▪ When her husband was fast asleep she must leave the bed, light the lamp, and get the knife.
▪ Quite at home in my bed, he fell fast asleep until dawn.
▪ Heather turned it slightly and saw that he was fast asleep.
▪ Bless him, he was fast asleep on the sofa.
▪ Mum is fast asleep in her chair.
▪ She went back as she had come, fast asleep and docile, her face expressionless.
▪ He lay fast asleep, surrounded by flames and smoke.
■ VERB
approach
▪ That deadline is fast approaching, and from the end of December Jubilee 2000 will be no more.
▪ It's hard to believe, but we're fast approaching the dessert hour.
▪ They made love as though tomorrow was fast approaching, and with it imminent departure.
▪ She was, of course, keenly interested in cinema, and her White House film festival was fast approaching.
▪ That said, the 1995 World Cup is fast approaching.
▪ The time was fast approaching when Earth, like all mothers, must say farewell to her children.
become
▪ The sport which is fast becoming a popular competitive alternative to the more traditional sports like eventing and hunter trials.
▪ Ishmael and Queequeg become fast friends.
▪ Should this happen, then our lives, and the quality of living, will fast become Utopian.
▪ Yet the public art programs can make only a small difference in the visual mess that Tucson is fast becoming.
▪ Snapshots and consumer imagery were fast becoming two sides of the same coin.
▪ The leader board was fast becoming a memory.
▪ It takes an intellectually open environment and an entrepreneurial edge to produce the kind of place that Bangalore is fast becoming.
drive
▪ He sent for his carriage and jumped in, and after telling his coachman to drive fast he ordered him to stop.
▪ So they drive fast, sleeping a few hours a night, then move on to the next job and paycheck.
▪ When they set off for church he set off for London, driving fast.
▪ He was driving fast, too fast for these streets.
▪ Jean drove fast, and was at the hospital in just under fifteen minutes.
▪ And I drove fast because I was scared.
▪ It pitches and bobbles on some roads, and bounces over the potholes driven fast.
▪ Raoul drove fast through back streets.
fade
▪ Read in studio Swindon Town's hopes of promotion are fading fast, after another defeat last night.
▪ It is just a little smile, and it fades fast.
▪ It was thin, fading fast like all horses in this bitter land.
▪ He was happy but was fading fast.
▪ Wet air blows in from the river, and the light is fading fast.
▪ The Raiders, sole occupants of last place in the West, are fading fast.
▪ Any expectations he may have had of inheriting a larger share of the Angevin Empire were fading fast.
▪ But the next half-century witnessed the general settlement of California, and by 1900 the condor was fading fast.
fall
▪ Quite at home in my bed, he fell fast asleep until dawn.
▪ When Mrs Thatcher left office, they were down to £455 million and falling fast.
▪ They kissed, and Felicity fell fast asleep, tired from her journey.
▪ When I looked again, he had fallen fast asleep.
▪ He had curled up on to his bed at the first opportunity and fallen fast asleep.
▪ But this time on their return to the car he fell fast asleep within minutes.
▪ The temperature inside ... minus twelve and falling fast.
go
▪ It wasn't going fast but it was going fast enough for what I wanted to do.
▪ Nature is preparing for autumn, and the front-row seats are going fast.
▪ The rabbits in front went fast and Hazel had little time to sniff about as he followed.
▪ The cars, by the sound, were going fast.
▪ In a touring boat we want long powerful strokes to go fast over long distances.
▪ Lithographs of the drawings have gone fast at $ 300 to $ 500.
▪ He could not go fast enough now to satisfy him.
grow
▪ The economically less powerful sections of the middle classes were growing fast both in numbers and in political consciousness.
▪ Children grow fast in this low gravity.
▪ The goat's milk helped the children to survive but Boris, who grew fast, suffered.
▪ This is an acceptable mode of adaptability for micro-organisms since these are fast growing.
▪ Smaller organisations have also grown fast.
▪ Savings and loans could not grow fast enough to make the required loans.
▪ The number of older people is growing fast, and will on average reach 12 % by 2025.
▪ Another fast growing category is the indigent elderly population in nursing homes.
happen
▪ In the summer of 1989 things began to happen fast.
▪ Things started to happen fast after that.
▪ It may not be happening fast enough, but the winds of societal change take a while to get up to speed.
learn
▪ And you're going to learn fast.
▪ Joe was the forerunner and mentor in foreign reporting, but Stewartaided by abundant letters of introduction from Joewas learning fast.
▪ The fledglings have grown and are learning fast, though still keep within the bounds of their parents' territory.
▪ They learn fast, believe me.
▪ Daine might be a novice Dreamer, but he was learning fast.
move
▪ The next he knew there was a shape in the sky to his left, moving fast towards him a little from below.
▪ Or some one driving north toward Lake of the Woods, moving fast, coming to her rescue.
▪ However, it is not moving fast enough to totally escape the pull of the Earth's gravitational field.
▪ San Diego is an international city and we are growing fast and we are moving fast.
▪ They had one at least of their number wounded, and they needed to move fast.
▪ When Ted was out of the bathroom and thumping around in the bedroom, I moved fast.
▪ He was angry with the hijackers and he was angry with himself because he had not moved fast enough to help Harald.
▪ The salamander, who now barely moved, could never have moved fast.
run
▪ Blondel, it seemed, could run fast.
▪ Did you kick the ball and then run fast?
▪ These things can be had by any animal that really needs to run fast, but they must be bought.
▪ He was one of the younger bearers and ran fast.
▪ Sime found it difficult to run fast round a bend because his abductor muscles underwent too much strain.
▪ What happens if you run fast forward in vision?
▪ Mr Straw's particular problem, however, is that the situation is fast running out of control.
▪ She ran fast along a path until she bumped into her brother.
sink
▪ As it is, our reputation is sinking fast in the west.
▪ I was sinking fast in the mire of soft money.
▪ Despite pulling the elevator back and the aeroplane changing attitude, it carried on, sinking fast.
▪ With his credit card statements no longer cushioned by company expenses, John found himself sinking fast in financial quicksand.
▪ Mary is also sinking fast, now at the stage of complete alienation from her family.
walk
▪ Then I walked fast on to the dark lonely marshes.
▪ Captain Samphan was walking fast across the road in the middle distance, ordering some of the troops into the paddy field.
▪ If he walked fast he was too aware of trying to distract himself.
▪ They shook hands with Oliver and went away, walking fast.
▪ He took long strides and he walked fast but he walked easily too and without great exertion.
▪ She was easy to keep in sight, but she walked fast.
▪ He walked fast, with his head down, taking little notice of where they were going.
▪ Now a line of Masai warriors appears, walking fast.
work
▪ They must have worked fast to get it together, Charles thought.
▪ We would have to work fast.
▪ Sloth and bad organisation seem to be to blame, even though the builders are on high wages to work fast.
▪ He always was in a rush, working fast.
▪ Some of my men think you don't work fast enough down there.
▪ They worked fast, connecting tubes, hooking up monitors, measuring blood pressure.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fast/good/long etc ball
▪ A bit like Dorigo ie he can cross a good ball when necessary.
▪ Anyway he is 24, is a good ball winner and throws himself around a bit.
▪ Jackson will supplant Charlie Ward as the starting point guard, giving the team a better ball distributor.
▪ Leeds do play a lot of football, but they hit a long ball as well.
▪ Phillips seized on a long ball and found himself with only Manninger to beat.
▪ Pow, Janir hit a long ball into the blackberry bushes beside the creek.
▪ Root threw me a fast ball.
a fast/slow etc walker
a touch disappointed/faster/impatient etc
▪ He was fond of the man who fretted beside him, and a touch impatient with him too.
as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her
▪ She ran to her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.
at a good/rapid/fast etc clip
▪ He was walking along at a good clip, his eyes idly panning the facades of the brownstone houses.
▪ Up ahead, a thoroughfare Traffic was going across the intersection at a good clip in both directions.
hold fast (to sth)
▪ Bush urged the party to hold fast to its traditions.
▪ But ever since the day when she had faced her own fears she had held fast to her principles.
▪ Difficult to hold fast to time.
▪ He kept his head, how-ever, and held fast to his golden apples.
▪ I am like a shipwrecked survivor holding fast to the debris, awaiting the arrival of the scheduled liner.
▪ If the Court holds fast to its abnegation of this traditional role, it could mark a sea change in federal-state relations.
▪ Jeffries was trying to cut him to ribbons; and here was Gordon trying to hold fast to Jeffries' coattails.
▪ Mr Buie held fast to his ground.
▪ She tried to struggle, but she was held fast.
play fast and loose with sth
▪ And there is his willingness to play fast and loose with the facts.
▪ Besides, it is playing fast and loose with the statistics to take 1981 as the baseline for the Government's claims.
▪ In what follows, I shall play fast and loose with these words and the subtle distinctions between them.
▪ They probably see it as a place where government plays fast and loose with tax dollars.
▪ To say that the Wattersons had played fast and loose with their investors' capital was an understatement.
plenty big/fast/warm etc enough
stand firm/stand fast
the best/biggest/fastest etc possible
▪ Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
▪ But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
▪ For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
▪ Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
▪ That way it will have the best possible start in life.
▪ The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
▪ The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
▪ This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
the fast lane
▪ Cars in the fast lane were traveling at over 80 miles an hour.
thick and fast
▪ At first no one was interested in the job but now applications are coming in thick and fast.
▪ Rumors flew thick and fast that the government would close the newspaper.
▪ Rumours flew thick and fast that the company was going to be sold.
▪ Callers, suitably and sombrely attired, came thick and fast.
▪ Finally, may reactions to the paper come thick and fast from all quarters!
▪ Official recognition of the change came thick and fast during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
▪ The export market has not taken up the slack, so redundancies are coming thick and fast.
▪ The form for Swindon can only get better; the games are coming thick and fast.
▪ The invitations came thick and fast.
▪ The rumours are growing thick and fast as weeds and de Craon must be their sower.
▪ They are falling thick and fast, some of them upon our dead, and some upon their own...
trouble with a capital T, fast with a capital F etc
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a fast-growing community
▪ Burglars work fast.
▪ Don't drive so fast - there's ice on the road.
▪ Don't talk so fast - I can't understand what you're saying.
▪ He ran home as fast as he could.
▪ Prices aren't rising as fast as they were a year ago.
▪ She walked faster and faster, then started to run.
▪ The car was going pretty fast when it went off the road.
▪ The front of the boat was stuck fast in the mud.
▪ The new fighter aircraft flies almost twice as fast as the old one.
▪ The spare tyre on the back of the Jeep was held fast by three strong bolts.
▪ We're working as fast as we can.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ At which Stour realised suddenly that he was the one who must act, and fast.
▪ He must complete his mission and leave as fast as possible.
▪ It felt too fast for me.
▪ The growth of the plants from tubercles treated in this manner is then very fast.
▪ The tiny device shocks the heart into normal rhythm when it beats too fast.
▪ They ran off as fast as their legs would carry them.
II.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
extremely
▪ This machine is extremely fast on disk-intensive tasks, but the video card is less impressive.
▪ Fast is thus the semantic head of extremely fast.
▪ This extremely fast disk duplicator uses Extended Memory if present to hold an image of the disk being copied.
▪ John was also extremely fast and nimble, and he possessed a remarkable body-swerve which could prove most disconcerting to opposing defenders.
▪ They were animate, versatile, and extremely fast.
▪ They are, in effect, extremely fast dot matrix printers.
▪ At extremely fast tempos this lilt is lost and they even out as they would in a funk or fusion context.
▪ The referee has to see and correctly interpret extremely fast actions.
how
▪ But how fast and far is it rising?
▪ It is a measure of how fast and far events have moved that I do so now.
▪ They watched how fast people walk and talk.
▪ It is a gradual, continuously varying effect on how far you can walk, and how fast.
▪ Even small changes in how fast and how far the contraction spreads can have profound effects on form.
▪ All trainee managers follow the same route; how fast and how far they develop depends entirely on their individual performance.
▪ In Czechoslovakia's Civic Forum, there are doubts about how fast reform should go.
▪ There is no clear consensus about how fast or slowly dinosaurs moved.
really
▪ He managed to get the cab in gear and then he was away, really fast.
▪ When you move in, you must move in fast - really fast.
▪ We have to go really fast.
▪ Ben got away to a really fast start and there was no heading him.
▪ Hawaii wasn't like that at all; we were just pure metal wildness played really fast and with a lot of chops.
▪ If they are really fast, the bowler may have a chance to hit the wicket before the batter returns.
▪ You said it came out really fast.
▪ You must have predominantly fast-twitch, white fibres in your muscles to generate really fast, explosive action.
■ NOUN
bowler
▪ The man Kelly was more a fast bowler than a darts player.
▪ One of the keenest spectators was Gloucestershire fast bowler David Lawrence.
▪ McDermott finished with 4-66, while fellow fast bowler Merv Hughes took 3-51.
▪ I am already one down to Imran, having declared that Waqar did not have the action of a genuine fast bowler.
▪ Read in studio Cricket ... Gloucestershire fast bowler Courtney Walsh has taken his fiftieth wicket of the season.
bowling
▪ He never gives in and that's half the battle in fast bowling.
▪ The fast bowling tactic has worked.
▪ He is currently undertaking research into batting techniques against fast bowling.
▪ This is a favoured technique with many great players of fast bowling, not least West Indies' Gordon Greenidge.
break
▪ They were Francis pushing the ball ahead to Mobley to finish off a fast break with a one-handed jam.
▪ He has filled the lanes on the fast break with Kevin Garnett in what looks like a greyhound race.
▪ She needs to do something to get in the game: a steal, a fast break, anything.
▪ The thing about the fast break is, well, you were fast today.
breeder
▪ The largest fast breeder reactor in the world is the Superphenix plant at Creys-Malville on the French/Swiss border.
▪ More recently, the demand for fast breeder reactors has seemed less urgent as worldwide supplies of uranium have become more plentiful.
▪ We would also have to discuss the development of fast breeder reactors, a necessity for all countries with limited uranium resources.
▪ No branch of nuclear technology is more detested and feared by the anti-nuclear and green lobbies than fast breeders.
▪ Additionally the controversial fast breeder and high temperature reactor projects are being re-examined.
▪ Protests reached their peak in 1977 with the decision to build the 1200 MWe fast breeder reactor at Creys-Malville.
buck
▪ I think people go out to make a fast buck without worrying about the consequences.
▪ All you had to do was write about it afterwards, and you could make a real fast buck.
▪ We are not in this for a fast buck.
▪ A fast buck Henry Rix 12.45:IT is hard to envisage anything but the front two in the market winning this Grade Two contest.
car
▪ The occasional very expensive, very fast car.
▪ I would be the one who got creamed by a fast car.
▪ First, there are those juveniles who steal and wreck fast cars.
▪ It's a very fast car, so it shouldn't take too long.
▪ Last year his father gave him a new car - a very fast car.
▪ It's like putting a blind man in a fast car and telling him to drive where and how he likes.
▪ He liked yachts, fast cars and horses.
▪ The insurance industry also provides some blocks to teenagers driving fast cars.
food
▪ This boom in fast food is providing strong competition for both staff restaurants and school meal services.
▪ Knutson frequently uses the slow cooker and oven for food pre tion instead of the microwave and fast foods.
▪ Obviously, the type of leadership qualities required for a fast food establishment are not the same as for an insurance company.
▪ Competitions are the fast food of the music business.
▪ Some fast food restaurants will be obliged to install costly emission-control vents.
▪ And it was wolfed down like fast food, digested with a raucous burp.
▪ Wendy's rejoined the fast food market in Great Britain after an absence of nearly six years.
▪ Go to fast food places at peak hours, when extra cooks and cashiers are working.
friend
▪ They never, however, became hard and fast friends and there was an unspoken rivalry between them.
▪ The two of them immediately became fast friends.
▪ The two become fast friends and Herbert gently and tactfully instructs Pip in social behaviour appropriate for a gentleman.
▪ Other volunteers want to become fast friends and cultural advisers.
▪ Within a few years they had become fast friends.
grower
▪ They fry were fed on baby brineshrimp and although not fast growers they seemed to do well.
▪ The Memphis company is a fast grower, with profits increasing more than 20 % in each of the past two years.
▪ It is also a very fast grower.
▪ It cuts well, and splits beautifully, an burns even when it is green; and it is a fast grower.
growth
▪ The fast growth of private trading and corruption associated with it could best be checked by individuals familiar with their localities.
▪ The second stage is a set of interviews with those managing the fast growth businesses to investigate the process of managerial recruitment.
lane
▪ It overturned in the fast lane on the twin-track road on the other side of Stowerton.
▪ They want to make life in the fast lane even faster.
▪ I pictured a man taking leave of his motor; wobbling from the fast lane towards the hard shoulder.
▪ One thing about driving a truck: it really is the fast lane into old age.
▪ Change tack immediately and take urgent action to get some talented protégés into your fast lane.
▪ Many gay men rejected these connections and found long-term partners, often away from the hubbub of the emerging gay fast lane.
▪ Next time some one cuts you up on the fast lane, pity him.
▪ For swimmers in the fast lane, it was 600 meters.
pace
▪ Terry Hands's direction whips all this along at a fast pace.
▪ That in itself was a risk and imposed a fast pace on the designers and builders.
▪ Wide roads lead to a new bridge crossing the water and traffic can proceed at a fast pace without a halt.
▪ Technological developments have been at a fast pace since the 1950s.
▪ The overweight people in this experiment, however, kept eating at the same fast pace throughout the meal.
▪ Unemployment has reached post-war records, and government schemes for the unemployed have replaced each other at a very fast pace.
▪ The intensity of instruction is a combination of fast pace and close focus.
▪ The traffic moves at a fast pace and averaging a speed of over one hundred kilometres an hour is not difficult.
road
▪ Gone is the wide fast road and its dangerous crossing, where the stripes gave walkers a false sense of security.
▪ But at the summit there's a fast road down if you take yourself too seriously.
▪ Wear a helmet, especially if using fast roads.
rule
▪ As long as you are comfortable, there are no hard and fast rules about clothing.
▪ However, this is not a hard and fast rule and there are numerous exceptions.
▪ The official departmental view is that no case is exactly like another, and hard and fast rules can not be applied.
▪ There are no hard and fast rules.
▪ But there are no hard and fast rules about the physique of a racing cyclist.
▪ It's difficult to give a hard and fast rule.
track
▪ Now Chairman Jack Strowger is banking on a bumper Christmas to get profits back on the fast track.
▪ But Huckelberry has also supported Bronson on many pro-environmental moves, including the fast track for incorporating Tortolita.
▪ People in Great Groups are never insiders or corporate types on the fast track: They are always on their own track.
▪ Courtney was a traditionalist, besides which Jack's career had finally begun to hit the fast track.
▪ But if you go with her, it means withdrawing from the fast track at Hopkins and entering a standard graduate curriculum.
▪ And the benefit of either the fast track remortgage service, or a £250 cashback.
▪ A genius who chucked the academic fast track for a tar paper cabin with no outhouse?
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fast/good/long etc ball
▪ A bit like Dorigo ie he can cross a good ball when necessary.
▪ Anyway he is 24, is a good ball winner and throws himself around a bit.
▪ Jackson will supplant Charlie Ward as the starting point guard, giving the team a better ball distributor.
▪ Leeds do play a lot of football, but they hit a long ball as well.
▪ Phillips seized on a long ball and found himself with only Manninger to beat.
▪ Pow, Janir hit a long ball into the blackberry bushes beside the creek.
▪ Root threw me a fast ball.
a fast/slow etc walker
a touch disappointed/faster/impatient etc
▪ He was fond of the man who fretted beside him, and a touch impatient with him too.
as fast as his/her legs could carry him/her
▪ She ran to her mother as fast as her legs could carry her.
at a good/rapid/fast etc clip
▪ He was walking along at a good clip, his eyes idly panning the facades of the brownstone houses.
▪ Up ahead, a thoroughfare Traffic was going across the intersection at a good clip in both directions.
hold fast (to sth)
▪ Bush urged the party to hold fast to its traditions.
▪ But ever since the day when she had faced her own fears she had held fast to her principles.
▪ Difficult to hold fast to time.
▪ He kept his head, how-ever, and held fast to his golden apples.
▪ I am like a shipwrecked survivor holding fast to the debris, awaiting the arrival of the scheduled liner.
▪ If the Court holds fast to its abnegation of this traditional role, it could mark a sea change in federal-state relations.
▪ Jeffries was trying to cut him to ribbons; and here was Gordon trying to hold fast to Jeffries' coattails.
▪ Mr Buie held fast to his ground.
▪ She tried to struggle, but she was held fast.
play fast and loose with sth
▪ And there is his willingness to play fast and loose with the facts.
▪ Besides, it is playing fast and loose with the statistics to take 1981 as the baseline for the Government's claims.
▪ In what follows, I shall play fast and loose with these words and the subtle distinctions between them.
▪ They probably see it as a place where government plays fast and loose with tax dollars.
▪ To say that the Wattersons had played fast and loose with their investors' capital was an understatement.
plenty big/fast/warm etc enough
stand firm/stand fast
the fast lane
▪ Cars in the fast lane were traveling at over 80 miles an hour.
thick and fast
▪ At first no one was interested in the job but now applications are coming in thick and fast.
▪ Rumors flew thick and fast that the government would close the newspaper.
▪ Rumours flew thick and fast that the company was going to be sold.
▪ Callers, suitably and sombrely attired, came thick and fast.
▪ Finally, may reactions to the paper come thick and fast from all quarters!
▪ Official recognition of the change came thick and fast during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
▪ The export market has not taken up the slack, so redundancies are coming thick and fast.
▪ The form for Swindon can only get better; the games are coming thick and fast.
▪ The invitations came thick and fast.
▪ The rumours are growing thick and fast as weeds and de Craon must be their sower.
▪ They are falling thick and fast, some of them upon our dead, and some upon their own...
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Boeing's new plane is faster and more luxurious than anything else they have ever produced.
▪ Dean always loved fast cars and expensive clothes.
▪ I'm a pretty fast reader.
▪ I keep the clock five minutes fast, so I won't be late.
▪ Is it really 6:45, or is my watch fast?
▪ One man's fast response saved a heart-attack victim's life.
▪ Rosa caught the fast train to London.
▪ The first pitch was fast and hard.
▪ The new convertible is fast and fun to drive.
▪ We hope Arlene will make a fast recovery.
▪ When I was a kid, I was the fastest boy in my class.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ But I am not as fast as he is.
▪ Despite its size, the buffalo is a very fast animal and can run up to thirty-five miles per hour.
▪ Nevertheless, when moral considerations made a fast imperative, his body had no veto.
▪ Other volunteers want to become fast friends and cultural advisers.
▪ Some in disbelief that a car so beautiful, so fast and so downright delicious could cost as little as £27,000.
▪ Training for speed must work repeatedly on the fast twitch fibres on a stop - go basis.
III.verb
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fast/good/long etc ball
▪ A bit like Dorigo ie he can cross a good ball when necessary.
▪ Anyway he is 24, is a good ball winner and throws himself around a bit.
▪ Jackson will supplant Charlie Ward as the starting point guard, giving the team a better ball distributor.
▪ Leeds do play a lot of football, but they hit a long ball as well.
▪ Phillips seized on a long ball and found himself with only Manninger to beat.
▪ Pow, Janir hit a long ball into the blackberry bushes beside the creek.
▪ Root threw me a fast ball.
a fast/slow etc walker
a touch disappointed/faster/impatient etc
▪ He was fond of the man who fretted beside him, and a touch impatient with him too.
at a good/rapid/fast etc clip
▪ He was walking along at a good clip, his eyes idly panning the facades of the brownstone houses.
▪ Up ahead, a thoroughfare Traffic was going across the intersection at a good clip in both directions.
plenty big/fast/warm etc enough
the best/biggest/fastest etc possible
▪ Any successful entrepreneurial venture starts with making sure that the entrepreneur is in the best possible mental and physical health.
▪ But the psychologist was never confident that he had obtained the best possible scores from Nelson.
▪ For a moment, I imagined the best possible to the worst possible reply.
▪ Obviously, the purpose is to ensure that the best possible pensions arrangements are reached.
▪ That way it will have the best possible start in life.
▪ The additional value farmers receive is the best possible free advice on both inputs and marketing.
▪ The horrifying news sent the Ciprianos on a nationwide search to find the best possible treatment for their daughter.
▪ This at once enhances the contribution which the court or parents can make towards reaching the best possible decision in all the circumstances.
the fast lane
▪ Cars in the fast lane were traveling at over 80 miles an hour.
thick and fast
▪ At first no one was interested in the job but now applications are coming in thick and fast.
▪ Rumors flew thick and fast that the government would close the newspaper.
▪ Rumours flew thick and fast that the company was going to be sold.
▪ Callers, suitably and sombrely attired, came thick and fast.
▪ Finally, may reactions to the paper come thick and fast from all quarters!
▪ Official recognition of the change came thick and fast during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
▪ The export market has not taken up the slack, so redundancies are coming thick and fast.
▪ The form for Swindon can only get better; the games are coming thick and fast.
▪ The invitations came thick and fast.
▪ The rumours are growing thick and fast as weeds and de Craon must be their sower.
▪ They are falling thick and fast, some of them upon our dead, and some upon their own...
trouble with a capital T, fast with a capital F etc
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ He would need to fast, to recuperate, to change, before he would be ready to take her.
▪ They fasted for a further 2 hours, after which they were allowed normal food and fluid intake.
IV.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
break
▪ The songs were then sung, and Gandhi drank some orange juice to break the three-week fast.
▪ After they had broken their fast he gave Aeneas the advice he had come to seek.
▪ The breaking of the fast, called iftar, usually begins with a snack of dates and milk or water.
▪ Keyes said he would not break his fast until he was invited to participate in subsequent candidate debates.
▪ Then, when they break their fast, the men serve the women.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a one-day fast for charity
▪ At the end of their fast, the people have a big party to celebrate.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As almost everyone except himself perfectly understood, these fasts were a ruthless exploitation of the power of his own sanctity.
Related phrases:
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Fast

Fast \Fast\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fasting.] [AS. f[ae]stan; akin to D. vasten, OHG. fast[=e]n, G. fasten, Icel. & Sw. fasta, Dan. faste, Goth. fastan to keep, observe, fast, and prob. to E. fast firm.]

  1. To abstain from food; to omit to take nourishment in whole or in part; to go hungry.

    Fasting he went to sleep, and fasting waked.
    --Milton.

  2. To practice abstinence as a religious exercise or duty; to abstain from food voluntarily for a time, for the mortification of the body or appetites, or as a token of grief, or humiliation and penitence.

    Thou didst fast and weep for the child.
    --2 Sam. xii. 21.

    Fasting day, a fast day; a day of fasting.

Fast

Fast \Fast\, a. [Compar. Faster; superl. Fastest.] [OE., firm, strong, not loose, AS. f[ae]st; akin to OS. fast, D. vast, OHG. fasti, festi, G. fest, Icel. fastr, Sw. & Dan. fast, and perh. to E. fetter. The sense swift comes from the idea of keeping close to what is pursued; a Scandinavian use. Cf. Fast, adv., Fast, v., Avast.]

  1. Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door.

    There is an order that keeps things fast.
    --Burke.

  2. Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong.

    Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.
    --Spenser.

  3. Firm in adherence; steadfast; not easily separated or alienated; faithful; as, a fast friend.

  4. Permanent; not liable to fade by exposure to air or by washing; durable; lasting; as, fast colors.

  5. Tenacious; retentive. [Obs.]

    Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.
    --Bacon.

  6. Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.

    All this while in a most fast sleep.
    --Shak.

  7. Moving rapidly; quick in mition; rapid; swift; as, a fast horse.

  8. Given to pleasure seeking; disregardful of restraint; reckless; wild; dissipated; dissolute; as, a fast man; a fast liver.
    --Thackeray.

  9. In such a condition, as to resilience, etc., as to make possible unusual rapidity of play or action; as, a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table, etc.

    Fast and loose, now cohering, now disjoined; inconstant, esp. in the phrases to play at fast and loose, to play fast and loose, to act with giddy or reckless inconstancy or in a tricky manner; to say one thing and do another. ``Play fast and loose with faith.''
    --Shak.

    Fast and loose pulleys (Mach.), two pulleys placed side by side on a revolving shaft, which is driven from another shaft by a band, and arranged to disengage and re["e]ngage the machinery driven thereby. When the machinery is to be stopped, the band is transferred from the pulley fixed to the shaft to the pulley which revolves freely upon it, and vice versa.

    Hard and fast (Naut.), so completely aground as to be immovable.

    To make fast (Naut.), to make secure; to fasten firmly, as a vessel, a rope, or a door.

Fast

Fast \Fast\, n. [OE. faste, fast; cf. AS. f[ae]sten, OHG. fasta, G. faste. See Fast, v. i.]

  1. Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment.

    Surfeit is the father of much fast.
    --Shak.

  2. Voluntary abstinence from food, for a space of time, as a spiritual discipline, or as a token of religious humiliation.

  3. A time of fasting, whether a day, week, or longer time; a period of abstinence from food or certain kinds of food; as, an annual fast.

    Fast day, a day appointed for fasting, humiliation, and religious offices as a means of invoking the favor of God.

    To break one's fast, to put an end to a period of abstinence by taking food; especially, to take one's morning meal; to breakfast.
    --Shak.

Fast

Fast \Fast\, adv. [OE. faste firmly, strongly, quickly, AS. f[ae]ste. See Fast, a.]

  1. In a fast, fixed, or firmly established manner; fixedly; firmly; immovably.

    We will bind thee fast.
    --Judg. xv. 13.

  2. In a fast or rapid manner; quickly; swiftly; extravagantly; wildly; as, to run fast; to live fast.

    Fast by, or Fast beside, close or near to; near at hand.

    He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunk Into the wood fast by.
    --Milton.

    Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides.
    --Pope.

Fast

Fast \Fast\, n. That which fastens or holds; especially, (Naut.) a mooring rope, hawser, or chain; -- called, according to its position, a bow, head, quarter, breast, or stern fast; also, a post on a pier around which hawsers are passed in mooring.

Related phrases:
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
fast

"act of fasting," late Old English fæsten "voluntary abstinence from food and drink or from certain kinds of food," especially, but not necessarily, as a religious duty; either from the verb in Old English or from Old Norse fasta "a fast, fasting, season for fasting," from a Proto-Germanic noun formed from the verbal root of fast (v.). In earlier Old English fæsten meant "fortress, cloister, enclosure, prison."

fast

Old English fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast, constant; secure; enclosed, watertight; strong, fortified," probably from Proto-Germanic *fastu- "firm, fast" (cognates: Old Frisian fest, Old Norse fastr, Dutch vast, German fest), from PIE root *past- "firm, solid" (source of Sanskrit pastyam "dwelling place").\n

\nMeaning "rapid, quick" is from 1550s, from the adverb (q.v.). Of colors, from 1650s; of clocks, from 1840. The sense of "living an unrestrained life, eager in pursuit of pleasure" (usually of women) is from 1746 (fast living is from 1745). Fast buck recorded from 1947; fast food is first attested 1951. Fast lane is by 1966; the fast track originally was in horse-racing (1934), one that permits maximum speed; figurative sense by 1960s. Fast-forward is by 1948, originally of audio tape.

fast

"abstain from food," Old English fæstan "to fast" (as a religious duty), also "to make firm; establish, confirm, pledge," from Proto-Germanic *fasten "to hold fast, observe abstinence" (cognates: Old Frisian festia, Old High German fasten, German fasten, Old Norse fasta "abstain from food"), from the same root as fast (adj.).\n

\nThe original meaning in prehistoric Germanic was "hold firmly," and the sense evolved via "have firm control of oneself," to "hold oneself to observance" (compare Gothic fastan "to keep, observe," also "to fast"). Perhaps the Germanic sense shifted through use of the native words to translate Medieval Latin observare in its sense "to fast." The verb in the sense "to make fast" continued in Middle English, but was superseded by fasten. Related: Fasted; fasting.

fast

Old English fæste "firmly, securely; strictly;" also, perhaps, "speedily," from Proto-Germanic *fasto (cognates: Old Saxon fasto, Old Frisian feste, Dutch vast, Old High German fasto, German fast "firmly, immovably, strongly, very"), from *fastu- (adj.) "firm, fast" (see fast (adj.)).\n

\nThe meaning "quickly, swiftly, rapidly" was perhaps in Old English, certainly by c.1200, probably from or developed under influence of Old Norse fast "firmly, fast." This sense developed, apparently in Scandinavian, from that of "firmly, strongly, vigorously" (to run hard means the same as to run fast; also compare fast asleep, also compare Old Norse drekka fast "to drink hard," telja fast "to give (someone) a severe lesson"). Or perhaps from the notion of a runner who "sticks" close to whatever he is chasing (compare Old Danish fast "much, swiftly, at once, near to, almost," and sense evolution of German fix "fast, fixed; fast, quick, nimble," from Latin fixus). The expression fast by "near, close, beside" also is said to be from Scandinavian. To fast talk someone (v.) is recorded by 1946.

Related phrases:
Wiktionary
fast

Etymology 1

  1. 1 (context dated English) firmly or securely fixed in place; stable. (from 9th c.) 2 Firm against attack; fortified by nature or art; impregnable; strong. 3 (context of people English) steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".) (from 10th c.) 4 Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid. (from 14th c.) 5 Causing unusual rapidity of play or action. 6 (context computing of a piece of hardware English) Able to transfer data in a short period of time. 7 deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people). (16th-19th c.) 8 (context of dyes or colours English) Not running or fade when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent. (from 17th c.) 9 (context obsolete English) tenacious; retentive. 10 (context colloquial English) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits. (from 18th c.) 11 ahead of the correct time or schedule. (from 19th c.) 12 (context of photographic film English) More sensitive to light than average. (from 20th c.) adv. 1 In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved (from 10th c.). 2 (context of sleeping English) deeply or soundly (from 13th c.). 3 Immediately following in place or time; close, very near (from 13th c.). 4 quickly, with great speed; within a short time (from 13th c.). interj. (context archery English) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target n. (context British rail transport English) A train that calls at only some stations it passes between its origin and destination, typically just the principal stations Etymology 2

    n. 1 The act or practice of abstaining from food or of eating very little food 2 The period of time during which one abstains from or eats very little food v

  2. (context intransitive English) To abstain from food, or eat very little, especially for religious or medical reasons.

Related phrases:
WordNet
fast

n. abstaining from food [syn: fasting]

fast

  1. v. abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons; "Catholics sometimes fast during Lent"

  2. abstain from eating; "Before the medical exam, you must fast"

fast

  1. adv. quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form); "how fast can he get here?"; "ran as fast as he could"; "needs medical help fast"; "fast-running rivers"; "fast-breaking news"; "fast-opening (or fast-closing) shutters"

  2. firmly or tightly; "held fast to the rope"; "her foot was stuck fast"; "held tight" [syn: tight]

fast

  1. adj. acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly; "fast film"; "on the fast track in school"; "set a fast pace"; "a fast car" [ant: slow]

  2. (used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later than the correct time; "my watch is fast" [ant: slow]

  3. at a rapid tempo; "the band played a fast fox trot" [ant: slow]

  4. (of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds; "a fast road"; "grass courts are faster than clay"

  5. firmly fastened or secured against opening; "windows and doors were all fast"; "a locked closet"; "left the house properly secured" [syn: barred, bolted, latched, locked, secured]

  6. resistant to destruction or fading; "fast colors"

  7. unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: debauched, degenerate, degraded, dissipated, dissolute, libertine, profligate, riotous]

  8. hurried and brief; "paid a flying visit"; "took a flying glance at the book"; "a quick inspection"; "a fast visit" [syn: flying, quick]

  9. securely fixed in place; "the post was still firm after being hit by the car" [syn: firm, immobile]

  10. unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause; "a firm ally"; "loyal supporters"; "the true-hearted soldier...of Tippecanoe"- Campaign song for William Henry Harrison; "fast friends" [syn: firm, loyal, truehearted, fast(a)]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Fast

Fast or FAST may refer to:

FAST (stroke)

FAST is an acronym used as a mnemonic to help detect and enhance responsiveness to stroke victim needs. The acronym stands for Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time.

  • Facial drooping: A section of the face, usually only on one side, that is drooping and hard to move.This can be recognized by a crooked smile.
  • Arm weakness: The inability to raise one's arm fully
  • Speech difficulties: An inability or difficulty to understand or produce speech
  • Time: If any of the symptoms above are showing, time is of the essence; call the emergency services or go to the hospital.
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "fast".

Tane and Asara were firing on the first Aberrant creature, trying to dissuade it from the panicking manxthwa, but it held fast.

She was breathing too fast, and her underarms and her face were abloom with heat.

She knew she could not scale a blank seven-foot wall fast enough to save herself, especially not with one stingingly abraded hand, so she studied the trees as she ran.

Heart beating too fast, Abrim suited up and stepped into the personnel lock.

Then he imposed a penance of prayer and fasting, and then absolved them.

Beyond Abies, the earth was rumbling, shouts and trampling footsteps approaching fast.

Grounders never got used to the fact that in orbit, you decelerated by firing your rockets to move into a higher, slower orbit, and accelerated by using your retros to drop into a lower, faster orbit.

The reds, as a rule, are affected by acids, and, therefore, it is not possible to use an acid bath with Benzopurpurine, Congo red, with the possible exception of the Titan reds and scarlets, Diamine scarlet, Benzo fast scarlet, Purpuramine, which are faster to acetic acid than the other reds of this class of dye-stuffs.

Whoever it was resorted to viral transfer, using adenovirus to transfer, splice, and mix human with chimpanzee DNA whole sequences at a time, a much faster process but haphazard.

Cable television has grown so fast and so furiously that it is now a staple in the marketing and advertising plans for both local and national advertisers.

The thing was going so fast he had but an instant apprehension of the dark figure of the aeronaut crouched together clutching at his wheel.

Shortly thereafter the two autos moved slowly off, while the aeroplane raced above them, going at a far faster speed.

I feared Moncrieff had killt Simon, and sae I set aff hame as fast as I could, unsteady as I was.

Lennox lifted his head up over the starboard aft lip of the sail, looking for the position of the Jianghu fast frigate, which was nowhere in sight.

And, worse, she had betrayed most melancholy signs of sourness and agedness as soon as he had sworn himself to her fast and fixed.