fast-food

adjective

ˈfas(t)-ˌfüd 

1

: of, relating to, or specializing in food that can be prepared and served quickly

a fast-food restaurant

2

: designed for ready availability, use, or consumption and with little consideration given to quality or significance

fast-food TV programming

fast food noun

Examples of fast-food in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Food and labor have become more expensive, especially in California, where the minimum wage for fast-food employees is $20 an hour. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026

Going to a fast-food restaurant and ordering quickly is easy for us. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 6 Nov. 2026

McDonald's — The fast-food restaurant chain reported mixed quarterly results , sending shares 5% higher. — Michelle Fox, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

Boubas said the technician told him that an area supermarket and a fast-food restaurant experienced the same issue. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fast-food

• accrued
• allude
• collude
• conclude
• construed
• debuted
• delude
• elude
• endued
• ensued
• eschewed
• etude

Kids Definition

fast-food

adjective

ˌfas(t)-ˌfüd

: specializing in food that can be prepared and served quickly

a fast-food restaurant