Fast vs. Fasting

Fastadjective

(dated) Firmly or securely fixed in place; stable.

‘That rope is dangerously loose. Make it fast!’;

Fastingnoun

abstinence from food

Fastadjective

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

Fastingnoun

abstaining from food

Fastadjective

(of people) Steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now mostly in set phrases like fast friend(s).)

Fasting

Fasting is the willful refrainment from eating and sometimes drinking (see Water fasting and Juice fasting). From a purely physiological context, may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see the ), or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal.

‘fasting’; ‘break fast’;

Fastadjective

Moving with great speed, or capable of doing so; swift, rapid.

‘I am going to buy a fast car.’;

Fastadjective

Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.

‘a fast racket, or tennis court; a fast track; a fast billiard table; a fast dance floor’;

Fastadjective

Able to transfer data in a short period of time.

Fastadjective

Deep or sound (of sleep); fast asleep (of people).

Fastadjective

(of dyes or colours) Not running or fading when subjected to detrimental conditions such as wetness or intense light; permanent.

‘All the washing has come out pink. That red tee-shirt was not fast.’;

Fastadjective

(obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.

Fastadjective

(dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.

‘a fast woman’;

Fastadjective

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

‘There must be something wrong with the hall clock. It is always fast.’;

Fastadjective

(of photographic film) More sensitive to light than average.

Fastadverb

In a firm or secure manner, securely; in such a way as not to be moved; safe, sound .

‘Hold this rope as fast as you can.’;

Fastadverb

(of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .

‘He is fast asleep.’;

Fastadverb

Immediately following in place or time; close, very near .

‘The horsemen came fast on our heels.’;

Fastadverb

Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .

‘Do it as fast as you can.’;

Fastadverb

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

‘I think my watch is running fast.’;

Fastnoun

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

Fastnoun

The act or practice of abstaining from food or of eating very little food.

Fastnoun

The period of time during which one abstains from or eats very little food.

‘Lent and Ramadan are fasts of two religions.’;

Fastinterjection

(archery) Short for "stand fast", a warning not to pass between the arrow and the target

Fastverb

(intransitive) To restrict one’s personal consumption, generally of food, but sometimes other things, in various manners (totally, temporally, by avoiding particular items), often for religious or medical reasons.

‘Muslims fast during Ramadan and Catholics during Lent.’;

Fastverb

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.’;

Fastverb

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.’;

Fastnoun

Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment.

‘Surfeit is the father of much fast.’;

Fastnoun

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

Fastnoun

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.

Fastnoun

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.

Fastadjective

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.’;

Fastadjective

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

‘Outlaws . . . lurking in woods and fast places.’;

Fastadjective

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

Fastadjective

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

Fastadjective

Tenacious; retentive.

‘Roses, damask and red, are fast flowers of their smells.’;

Fastadjective

Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.

‘All this while in a most fast sleep.’;

Fastadjective

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

Fastadjective

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

Fastadjective

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.

Fastadverb

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

‘We will bind thee fast.’;

Fastadverb

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

‘He, after Eve seduced, unminded slunkInto the wood fast by.’; ‘Fast by the throne obsequious Fame resides.’;

Fastnoun

abstaining from food

Fastverb

abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons;

‘Catholics sometimes fast during Lent’;

Fastverb

abstain from eating;

‘Before the medical exam, you must fast’;

Fastadjective

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’;

Fastadjective

(used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later than the correct time;

‘my watch is fast’;

Fastadjective

at a rapid tempo;

‘the band played a fast fox trot’;

Fastadjective

(of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds;

‘a fast road’; ‘grass courts are faster than clay’;

Fastadjective

firmly fastened or secured against opening;

‘windows and doors were all fast’; ‘a locked closet’; ‘left the house properly secured’;

Fastadjective

resistant to destruction or fading;

‘fast colors’;

Fastadjective

unrestrained by convention or morality;

‘Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society’; ‘deplorably dissipated and degraded’; ‘riotous living’; ‘fast women’;

Fastadjective

hurried and brief;

‘paid a flying visit’; ‘took a flying glance at the book’; ‘a quick inspection’; ‘a fast visit’;

Fastadjective

securely fixed in place;

‘the post was still firm after being hit by the car’;

Fastadjective

unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause;

‘a firm ally’; ‘loyal supporters’; ‘the true-hearted soldier...of Tippecanoe’; ‘fast friends’;

Fastadverb

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’;

Fastadverb

firmly or tightly;

‘held fast to the rope’; ‘her foot was stuck fast’; ‘held tight’;