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Does anyone have an idea? Close friends? I usually see this term in stories where the friends were best friends and then they fight for some reason.

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    Usain Bolt is fastest human (according to TIME mag) and if he is your friend then he is your fast[est] friend. :) – Rakesh Juyal Oct 31 '10 at 11:55
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    @Rakesh:then he would be fastest,I am searching for a 'fast friend'. – user1478 Oct 31 '10 at 15:16
  • ah! my bad – Rakesh Juyal Nov 3 '10 at 5:23
  • *smiles.......! – user1478 Nov 3 '10 at 7:08
25

From Merriam-Webster:

fast
[...]
2 : firmly loyal <became fast friends>

From Wiktionary:

Of people: steadfast, with unwavering feeling. (Now only in set phrases like "fast friend".) [from 10th c.]

Etymonline provides some background:

O.E. fæst "firmly fixed, steadfast, secure, enclosed," probably from P.Gmc. *fastuz (cf. O.Fris. fest, O.N. fastr, Du. vast, Ger. fest)

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  • interetsing, i always thought "they became fast friends" meant "they quickly became friends" – Claudiu Oct 31 '10 at 0:13
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    @Claudiu: that would be "they became friends fast" or "they fast became friends". Note how you didn't write "they became quickly friends". An adverb doesn't really fit in there. – RegDwigнt♦ Oct 31 '10 at 0:24
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    With the meaning of "firmly fixed", "fast" is also used in the phrase "stuck fast", to mean really, really stuck. – Steve Melnikoff Nov 1 '10 at 10:11
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    @Steve: and let us not forget "fasten your seatbelts". – RegDwigнt♦ Nov 1 '10 at 10:17
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    I always thought that meant "make your seatbelts go faster!" – user1635 Nov 27 '10 at 1:06
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The sense of "fast" here is almost obsolete; it's the "fast" of "steadfast," as noted by RegDwight above. It means "tight" or "secure," and you'll see it in literature in expressions like "hold fast" meaning to "get a tight grip" (on something). "Hold fast to your dreams" means to keep them close and never let them go.

Which is exactly what you should do with a good friend.

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-3

Fast friends are people who newly meet by circumstances but find themselves mutually trustworthy and so, bond together.

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  • Welcome to ELU. This site expects references to back up your assertions. For a good answer, see the accepted answer on this question, which has a dictionary reference to back it up. – AndyT Aug 21 '17 at 9:08
-3

Fast friends means friends who spend most of their time in a day together. Or friends who are always seen together.

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-6

A pairing of two or more people whom quickly become close and find each other disposable; similar to fast food : readily available and enjoyable at the time.

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    That is not what fast means here. Your use of whom is also incorrect. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Mar 7 '15 at 9:43