abstain from certain foods, as for religious or medical reasons
<verb.consumption> Catholics sometimes fast during Lent
abstain from eating
<verb.consumption> Before the medical exam, you must fast [ adj ]
acting or moving or capable of acting or moving quickly
<adj.all> fast film on the fast track in school set a fast pace a fast car
(used of timepieces) indicating a time ahead of or later than the correct time
<adj.all> my watch is fast
at a rapid tempo
<adj.all> the band played a fast fox trot [ adv ]
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
<adv.all> 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
firmly or closely
<adv.all> held fast to the rope her foot was stuck fast held tight [ adj ]
(of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds
<adj.all> a fast road grass courts are faster than clay
resistant to destruction or fading
<adj.all> fast colors
unrestrained by convention or morality
<adj.all> Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society deplorably dissipated and degraded riotous living fast women
hurried and brief
<adj.all> paid a flying visit took a flying glance at the book a quick inspection a fast visit
securely fixed in place
<adj.all> the post was still firm after being hit by the car
unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause
<adj.all> a firm ally loyal supporters the true-hearted soldier...of Tippecanoe fast friends
(of a photographic lens or emulsion) causing a shortening of exposure time
<adj.all> a fast lens
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\, 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. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{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\, 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\, 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\, 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.
"I never seen anybody run that fast," said Constable John Brown, who was escorting Bailey.
The idea to fast 24 hours in support of the hostages was conceived by Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries and was adopted enthusiastically by Peggy Say, Anderson's sister and the leader of efforts to free the hostages.
The UAW aired radio commercials Tuesday echoing its theme that the fast work pace at Nissan has increased injuries.
And they are dropping fast as productivity is rising at a good clip.
The debate over how much and how fast to cut interest rates was expected to be the primary topic today when top Fed officials gathered behind closed doors for their final monetary strategy session of 1990.
Don't lie about your looks or move too fast for the guy.
In his farewell address to the nation Saturday, he alluded to the current criticism of that 21-year era, allowing that some "bad things" had occurred but sticking fast to his lifelong belief in the Socialist creed.
I really disapprove of people who drive fast and grippy cars on country roads at speeds more appropriate to a rally special stage.
The catch is, you'll have to act fast if you want to be able to deduct a Keogh contribution on your 1991 tax return. While you have until April 15 to actually put the money in, the deadline for filing an application for 1991 is Dec. 31.
Bahlinger said the fast was designed to call attention to the peasants' appeals for land reform and better working and living conditions.
Part 4 started fast and passionate and ended with what looked like a gang fight.
Fisons "couldn't grow fast enough by small acquisitions."
Depending on the type of software and peripherals used, the machines can serve either as the main computer in a network of many terminals (a role usually filled by a minicomputer), as a technical workstation or as a very fast personal computer.
One trader said that although the market isn't perceived as "overheating," it still "has been rising rather fast and is likely to have a slight correction."
Lutz is known for his love of cars, especially driving them fast.
I am like an overweight chocoholic trying to kick the habit whose friends keep bringing gift boxes of sinfully fattening hard and soft centres. My problem is fast cars.
The world railway speed record is 319 mph, set by France's TGV last May. The new Shinkansen train will begin Tokyo-Osaka passenger service next year, traveling as fast as 167 mph and cutting 20 minutes off the current 2 1/2-hour trip.
"Things are cool and calm," he said. "We're trying to unwind that fire as fast as we can now.
New York is one of three states _ the others are California and North Dakota _ whose drivers have been found to have been driving too fast, and which risk losing some of their federal road assistance.
"Sure it's fast," concedes Michael Gordon of the Fidelity Select Biotechnology Fund of Boston, referring to some biotech companies' speedy return to the equity market.
And just watch how fast people move if they walk into a silky spider web in the dark.
In his speech broadcast on Panamanian radio and television, Endara said he would continue to work in coming days, despite his fast.
He learned fast, going on to captain the New York University team and play three years in the national championships at Forest Hills.
Neither is economic reform: Brazil, for example, has yet to provide evidence that its fiscal position is under control; Argentina's reform programme still has far to go; Mexico's current account deficit is rising, some believe, dangerously fast.
But it also means he has to convince nervous retailer and skeptical employees that he's interested in a long-term relationship and not a fast buck.
The fast growth hasn't been problem free.
"It escaped in such an incredible hurry, so fast, that even if the equipment had been in place, it wouldn't have been enough," he said.
So far, the contest has been fought through traditional ads and letters to shareholders, but with Monday's shareholder meeting fast approaching, Mr. Icahn has taken his fight to the airwaves.
A thin young bowler tore down the hill and bowled furiously, then followed through with unstoppable momentum, almost as fast as the ball. He was one of three generations of Tevershams involved in the match.