fasts

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of fast.

   The abbot fasts on certain days as an act of devotion.

   Whenever she feels ill, she fasts for a day to recover.

   Note

   A singular subject takes this form in the present: he fasts, the abbot fasts. It usually stands without an object (she fasts on Fridays). A direct object appears only in the causative use, where a person makes someone else, or an animal, go without food. Even then the -s still follows the subject, not the one kept from eating.

   The vet fasts the horse overnight before the procedure.

   During Lent he fasts every Friday.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of fast.

   The monastery observes several fasts throughout the liturgical year.

   Extended fasts can be dangerous without proper medical supervision.

   Note

   Most often these are counted periods of abstinence: the fasts of the liturgical year, or a run of fasts kept for health. In British railway usage the same plural names trains that call only at principal stations, so the fasts on a timetable are its express services. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb. A determiner such as the, several or two marks the noun.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2