fast-track

adjective \ ˈfas(t)-ˌtrak \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

1 : of, relating to, or moving along a fast track

fast-track executives

2 : of, relating to, or being a construction procedure in which work on a building begins before designs are completed

3 : of or relating to authority granted to the President of the U.S. by Congress that allows the President to negotiate trade agreements which Congress must confirm or reject in their entirety

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First Known Use of fast-track

1967

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

fast-track

verb

transitive verb

: to speed up the processing, production, or construction of in order to meet a goal

—

fast-tracker

noun

First Known Use of fast-track

1971

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

fast-track Synonyms

fast track

noun

1 : a course leading to rapid advancement or success

2 : a course of expedited consideration or approval

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Recent Examples of fast track from the Web

Traffic rebounded slightly in 2017, helped by the opening of four new high-speed lines that added 700 kilometers of fast track.

— Bloomberg.com, "France’s Once-Vaunted Trains Are Macron’s Biggest Challenge Yet," 3 Apr. 2018
This team also appears to be on the fast track to respectability, partially due to the acquisition of slot receiver Jarvis Landry, Beckham's best buddy from their college days in Baton Rouge.

— nate davis, USA TODAY, "Odell Beckham trade scenarios: Six teams that are best fits for Giants WR," 29 Mar. 2018
Andela, in Lagos, is a fast track programming center which is training Africans to be top developers.

— ized uanikhehi, CNN, "How ancient knowledge inspires African tech to flourish," 26 Mar. 2018
Republican leadership fast tracked the proposal Thursday after more than a month of legislative inaction and weeks of vocal protests from Arizona teachers demanding higher wages.

— ricardo cano, azcentral, "Gov. Doug Ducey signs education tax plan into law," 26 Mar. 2018
Azar is pushing more ways to fast track generic drugs to the market and enacting polices to discourage drug makers from raising prices.

— paige winfield cunningham, Washington Post, "The Health 202: Hey Republicans, Medicaid is a key way to tackle opioid abuse," 12 Mar. 2018
The legislation appeared to be on a fast track where it could be sent to the governor with sufficient time remaining in the session to override Hogan’s promised veto.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Gov. Hogan, Franchot unload on Maryland legislators over bill to trim their roles in school construction," 28 Mar. 2018
The congressman dispatched a letter Monday to Gov. Kay Ivey, calling for plans in his Congressional district to widen I-565 between Madison and I-65 to be put on the fast track.

— paul gattis, AL.com, "Rep. Mo Brooks to Gov. Kay Ivey: Widen I-565 in Huntsville," 26 Mar. 2018
The technology is putting Kroger on the fast track in the grocery game, similar to Amazon Go, the cashier-less grocery store from Amazon which opened in January in Seattle.

— susan selasky, Detroit Free Press, "Kroger's 'Scan, Bag, Go' aims to get you in and out quickly," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fast track.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.