Fast vs. First — What's the Difference?

Acting, moving, or capable of acting or moving quickly; swift.

The ordinal number matching the number one in a series.

Accomplished in relatively little time

The one coming, occurring, or ranking before or above all others.

Acquired quickly with little effort and sometimes unscrupulously

The beginning; the outset

Quick to understand or learn; mentally agile

(Music) The voice or instrument highest in pitch or carrying the principal part.

Indicating a time somewhat ahead of the actual time

The transmission gear or corresponding gear ratio used to produce the range of lowest drive speeds in a motor vehicle.

Allowing rapid movement or action

The winning position in a contest

Designed for or compatible with a short exposure time

First base.

Disposed to dissipation; wild

A first baseman.

Flouting conventional moral standards; sexually promiscuous.

Corresponding in order to the number one.

Resistant, as to destruction or fading

Coming before all others in order or location

Firmly fixed or fastened

Occurring or acting before all others in time; earliest

Fixed firmly in place; secure

Ranking above all others, as in importance or quality; foremost

Lasting; permanent

(Music) Being highest in pitch or carrying the principal part

Deep; sound

Of, relating to, or being the transmission gear or corresponding gear ratio used to produce the range of lowest drive speeds in a motor vehicle.

In a secure manner; tightly

Of, related to, or being a member of the US president's household

To a sound degree; deeply

Before or above all others in time, order, rank, or importance

In a rapid manner; quickly.

For the first time.

In quick succession

Rather; preferably

Ahead of the correct or expected time

In the first place; to begin with; firstly.

In a dissipated, immoderate way

Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.

(Archaic) Close by; near.

Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest.

To abstain from food.

Of or belonging to a first family.

To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.

Before anything else; firstly.

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

For the first time.

A period of such abstention or self-denial.

Now.

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

(uncountable) The person or thing in the first position.

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

(uncountable) The first gear of an engine.

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

(countable) Something that has never happened before; a new occurrence.

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

First base

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).

A first-class honours degree.

Of a place, characterised by business, hustle and bustle, etc.

A first-edition copy of some publication.

Causing unusual rapidity of play or action.

(in combination) A fraction whose (integer) denominator ends in the digit 1.

Able to transfer data in a short period of time.

(obsolete) Time; time granted; respite.

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

Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign.

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

Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.

(obsolete) Tenacious; retentive.

Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece.

(dated) Having an extravagant lifestyle or immoral habits.

Before any other person or thing in time, space, rank, etc.; - much used in composition with adjectives and participles.

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; - so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preëminence in the combined effect.

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

The first or highest in an ordering or series;

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

The first element in a countable series;

(of sleeping) Deeply or soundly .

The time at which something is supposed to begin;

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

The fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed at first base

Quickly, with great speed; within a short time .

An honours degree of the highest class

Ahead of the correct time or schedule.

The lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle; used to start a car moving

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

Preceding all others in time or space or degree;

The act or practice of fasting, religious abstinence from food

Indicating the beginning unit in a series

One of the fasting periods in the liturgical year

Serving to set in motion;

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

Serving to begin;

(intransitive) To practice religious abstinence, especially from food.

Ranking above all others;

To reduce or limit one's nutrition intake for medical or health reasons, to diet.

Highest in pitch or chief among parts or voices or instruments or orchestra sections;

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

Being the gear producing the lowest drive speed;

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.

Before anything else;

Abstinence from food; omission to take nourishment.

The initial time;

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

Before another in time, space, or importance;

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.

Prominently forward;

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.

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

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

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

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

Tenacious; retentive.

Not easily disturbed or broken; deep; sound.

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

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

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.

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

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

Abstaining from food

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

Abstain from eating;

Acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly;

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

At a rapid tempo;

(of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds;

Firmly fastened or secured against opening;

Resistant to destruction or fading;

Unrestrained by convention or morality;

Hurried and brief;

Securely fixed in place;

Unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause;

Quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form);

Firmly or tightly;