Meanings
present singular third person fast forwards · participle present fast forwarding · participle past fast forwarded · past fast forwarded · alternative fast-forward
- figurativelyintransitiveTo shift one's attention or focus toward a later point in time.
Antarctica was remote, little of value […] was at stake, and few states had the capacity to get to Antarctica or otherwise challenge the claimants. […] Fast-forward to the present, and the picture looks somewhat different.
2012, Alan D. Hemmings, Donald R. Rothwell, Karen N. Scott, Antarctic Security in the Twenty-First Century, page 77Synonyms: jump-cut
- figurativelyintransitiveTo advance rapidly in time.
Metallica have revealed that they plan to ‘fast-forward to the next chapter’ of working with Lady Gaga – sparking rumours of a collaborative album.
2017 February 15, Andrew Trndell, “Metallica to ‘fast-forward to next chapter’ of working with Lady Gaga”, in NME, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2022 - figurativelytransitiveTo accelerate.
Lippman said Crispr is an incredibly useful tool in research, allowing him to ask new questions of the tomato plants he breeds, by fast-forwarding the research process. “The amount of genetics that we’re currently able to do has at least quintupled in the last three years,” he said.
2019 May 30, Karen Weintraub, “Crispr gene-editing will change the way Americans eat – here's what's coming”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2019
plural fast forwards · alternative fast-forward
- countableuncountableThe feature that allows media to be fast-forwarded.
- countablefigurativelyuncountableA state of rapid advancement.
In addition to her simple, punchy opening lines, Roupenian likes to begin stories at true beginnings, like childhood or a brand-new relationship, her tales often ones of maturation in fast-forward.
2019 January 22, Lauren Holmes, “If You Thought ‘Cat Person’ Was Dark, Wait Until You Read the Rest of the Book”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2020
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo shift one's attention or focus toward a later point in time.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 快轉 /快转, 快進 /快进
- 快轉 /快转 (kuàizhuǎn)to cause media to roll fast
- 快進 /快进 (kuàijìn)to cause media to roll fast
Danish spole frem
- spole fremto cause media to roll fast
Dutch vooruitspoelen, doorspoelen
- vooruitspoelento cause media to roll fast
- doorspoelento cause media to roll fast
Finnish pikakelata, kelata eteenpäin
- pikakelatato cause media to roll fast
- kelata eteenpäinto cause media to roll fast
German vorspulen
- vorspulento cause media to roll fast
Icelandic spóla áfram, spóla
- spóla áframto cause media to roll fast
- spólato cause media to roll fast
Japanese 早送りする
- 早送りする (hayaokuri suru)to cause media to roll fast
Korean 빨리감다
- 빨리감다 (ppalligamda)to cause media to roll fast
Malay memundar laju
- memundar lajuto cause media to roll fast
Polish przewijać do przodu, przewinąć do przodu
- przewijać do przoduto cause media to roll fast
- przewinąć do przoduto cause media to roll fast
Russian перема́тывать вперёд, перемота́ть вперёд
- перема́тывать вперёд (peremátyvatʹ vperjód)to cause media to roll fast
- перемота́ть вперёд (peremotátʹ vperjód)to cause media to roll fast
Swedish snabbspola
- snabbspolato cause media to roll fast
Cite this entry
fast forward. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fast%20forward
“fast forward.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fast%20forward. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fast forward,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fast%20forward.
Source: fast forward on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.