fast
  Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]    — adj., adv., n. -er, -est, -er, -est, 
  
 
—adj. - moving or able to move, operate, function, or take effect quickly; quick; swift; rapid: a fast horse; a fast pain reliever; a fast thinker. 
- done in comparatively little time; taking a comparatively short time: a fast race; fast work. 
- (of time)  
 -  indicating a time in advance of the correct time, as of a clock. 
-  noting or according to daylight-saving time. 
- adapted to, allowing, productive of, or imparting rapid movement: a hull with fast lines; one of the fastest pitchers in baseball. 
- characterized by unrestrained conduct or lack of moral conventions, esp. in sexual relations; wanton; loose: Some young people in that era were considered fast, if not downright promiscuous. 
- characterized by hectic activity: leading a fast life. 
- resistant: acid-fast. 
- firmly fixed in place; not easily moved; securely attached.  
- held or caught firmly, so as to be unable to escape or be extricated: an animal fast in a trap. 
- firmly tied, as a knot.  
- closed and made secure, as a door, gate, or shutter.  
- such as to hold securely: to lay fast hold on a thing. 
- firm in adherence; loyal; devoted: fast friends. 
- permanent, lasting, or unchangeable: a fast color; a hard and fast rule. 
-  He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage. 
 -  (of money, profits, etc.) made quickly or easily and sometimes deviously:He earned some fast change helping the woman with her luggage. 
-  cleverly quick and manipulative in making money:a fast operator when it comes to closing a business deal. 
-   
 -  (of a lens) able to transmit a relatively large amount of light in a relatively short time. 
-  (of a film) requiring a relatively short exposure time to attain a given density. 
-   
 -  (of a track condition) completely dry. 
-  (of a track surface) very hard. 
- to play an unfair trick; practice deceit: He tried to pull a fast one on us by switching the cards. 
 
—adv. - quickly, swiftly, or rapidly.  
- in quick succession: Events followed fast upon one another to the crisis. 
- tightly; firmly: to hold fast. 
- soundly: fast asleep. 
- in a wild or dissipated way.  
- ahead of the correct or announced time.  
- close; near: fast by. 
- See(def. 76).  
 
—n. - a fastening for a door, window, or the like.  
 
fast
  Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]    — v.i. 
  - to abstain from all food.  
- to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, esp. as a religious observance.  
 
—v.t. - to cause to abstain entirely from or limit food; put on a fast: to fast a patient for a day before surgery. 
 
—n. - an abstinence from food, or a limiting of one's food, esp. when voluntary and as a religious observance; fasting.  
- a day or period of fasting.  
 
fast
  Pronunciation: (fast, fäst), [key]    — n. 
  - a chain or rope for mooring a vessel.  
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.