Dictionary

fast food en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɑːst ˈfuːd/
• /ˈfæst ˈfuːd/
• (US) audio

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) Restaurant food that is served quickly, often standardized and pre-prepared.
2. (uncountable, usually) A type of food that is quickly made, but of low nutritional value; junk food.
   • In high schools with open campuses, students leave at lunchtime to buy fast food elsewhere. Since leaving school is unsafe, schools are opting to serve less nutritious foods so the students stay on campus. For example, many schools have invited junk food franchises into their cafeterias, including Subway, Taco Bell, and Domino's. 1999, Carol Silverman Saunders, Safe at School: Awareness and Action for Parents of Kids Grades K-12:
   • In the course of the last decade, it has become the dominant “fast-food” franchise in America—and it is now spreading abroad, carrying its gospel of machine technology wedded to cheap hamburgers wherever it can find a mouth-hold, and converting anyone it can to the glories of junk food 1980, Arthur Asa Berger, Television As An instrument of Terror, page 189:
   • Junk food companies spent billions of advertising dollars in 2017 targeting black and Hispanic kids, a new study has revealed. / Television ads for fast food, sugary drinks and fatty or salty snacks are almost exclusively targeted to minority youth, the report, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found. 2019 January 15, Lauren Tousignant, “Junk food ads overwhelmingly target black, Hispanic kids”, in New York Post:
   • Everyone loves some junk food some of the time. That's why there are more than 140,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. 1986, “JUNK. OR. GEMS?”, in 1000s of free things: or almost free, page 131:
   • Disney even chose to stop licensing its film characters for McDonald’s Happy Meals, citing the link between fast food and childhood obesity. 2012 June 6, Dawn C. Chmielewski, “Disney bans junk-food advertising on programs for children”, in Los Angeles Times:
3. (uncountable, usually) Anything standardized, quickly available, and inexpensive, often, of low value.
   • The best evidence is that Sandals, the fast-food king of island weddings, now markets the term weddingmoons. 2002 March 29, “Going Offshore”, in Time:
   • Outside, the drive-in crowd is heading back into the Sturm und Drang of city traffic and a fast-food world 2008 August 19, Carmen K. Sisson, “A Georgia church tries drive-in worship”, in Christian Science Monitor, page 25:
   • Guys are good for two things: 1) help when you need to move something heavy, and 2) fast-food sex where you always know what's on the menu and, with a little work, you can supersize it 2007, Margo Candela, Life over easy:

Forms

Deriveds

fast food place · slow food

Relateds

junk food

Synonyms

short order (type of meal served quickly) · junk food (quick meal of low nutritional value)

Translations (97)

ary ماكلة الزنقة (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nl snelle hap (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · hi फ़ास्ट फ़ूड (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · es platos preparados (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · th อาหารจานด่วน (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nl snelvoedsel (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ca plats preparats (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · aii ܡܹܐܟ݂ܠܵܬܹ̈ܐ ܩܲܠܘܼܠܹ̈ܐ (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · fa غذای فوری (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nn snøggmat (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · id masakan siap saji (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Schnellgericht (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · vi thức ăn nhanh (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · cy bwyd brys (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ary مالكة برا (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · hy ֆասթֆուդ (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nl gemakvoedsel (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nb hurtigmat (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Schnellimbiss (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · hy արագ սնունդ (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ur فاسٹ فوڈ (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · fa فست فود (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ga bia áise (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it cibo rapido (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it ristorazione rapida (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · gd biadh luath (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sh фаст фуд (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · cmn 速食 (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ar وَجْبَات سَرِيعَة (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · da fastfood (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ja ファーストフード (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ru фаст-фу́д (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Fertigkost (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · pl fast food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · cs rychlé občerstvení (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sk rýchlo občerstvenie (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sh fast fud (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · da sammensat fødevare (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · yi גיכשפּײַז (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ug تېز تاماق (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ru бы́строе пита́ние (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · he פסט פוד (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it ristorazione veloce (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Fastfood (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · hu gyorsételek (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sl hitra hrana (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ru фастфу́д (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nl flitskost (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · pt fast food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · mn түргэн хоол (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · id makanan cepat saji (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · kea fatióta (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · fi pikaruoka (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sh brza hrana (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sl fast food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sv snabbmat (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it cibo veloce (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sh брза храна (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · eo rapidmanĝaĵo (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · lt greitasis maistas (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ro fast-food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · cy bwyd cyflym (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ca menjar ràpid (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · id masakan cepat saji (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ka ფასტ-ფუდი (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ko 즉석식품 (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · mi ō rangaranga (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · bg бъ́рзо хра́нене (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · et poolfabrikaat (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · da forbehandlet mad (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · vi đồ ăn nhanh (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Schnellkost (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · tr hazır yiyecekler (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · nl haastkost (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · bg полуфабрика́т (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · mk брза храна (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it cibo servito rapidamente (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · id makanan siap saji (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · cmn 快餐 (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ja 即製食品 (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · kk фастфуд (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · de Fertigessen (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · sw chakula cha kununua (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · yi גיך־עסן (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ka სწრაფი კვება (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · bo མགྱོགས་ཟས། (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it pasto veloce (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · lv ātrā ēdināšana (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it fast food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · fr fast-food (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · et kiirtoit (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ko 패스트푸드 (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · el φαστ φουντ (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ta துரித உணவு (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · es comida rápida (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · ru полуфабрика́ты (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly) · it pasto rapido (type of meal that is often pre-prepared and served quickly)