fast track

¹

noun

1. a racetrack dry and hard enough for optimum speed.

2. a railroad track for express trains.

3. Informal.,  a situation or course of action that is intensely pressured or competitive, especially one in which a person advances rapidly to a higher level in a business or profession.

   With two promotions in six months, he seems to have chosen the fast track.

fast-track

²

[fast-trak, fahst-]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to advance or develop rapidly.

adjective

1. of or relating to the fast track.

fast-track

adjective

1. denoting the quickest or most direct route or system

   fast-track executives

   a fast-track procedure for libel claims

verb

1. (tr) to speed up the progress of (a project or person)

Other Word Forms

• fast-tracker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fast track¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on a / the fast track,

   1. advancing or being promoted more rapidly than usual, especially in business or other organizational positions.

      an executive on the fast track.

   2. expanding or being developed or handled rapidly and often innovatively.

      a company on the fast track in computer technology.

A situation involving high pressure, competition, and, especially, rapid success or advancement. For example, He was definitely on a fast track, becoming a partner after only five years in the firm, or This company was on the fast track in software development. This term alludes to a dry, hard horse track that enables horses to run at high speeds. [Colloquial; mid-1960s] Also see fast lane.

Example Sentences

But Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, said the ruling "made it clear that violent protest, and in many cases overt racism, is not a fast-track route for the far right to attack the rights of people seeking sanctuary in this country".

From BBC

The plan involves creating new laws to fast-track people into detention and removal from the UK - and providing the legislation is correctly worded, there is nothing in principle to say that Parliament could not create such a scheme.

From BBC

As part of the fast-track process, Intersect Power was required to enter into at least one so-called “community benefits agreement” with a local organization and to provide tangible benefits to the region.

From Los Angeles Times

And after significant local pushback, a developer that has been planning to build a lithium-ion battery storage facility on the site where Morro Bay’s iconic smokestacks stand pulled out of the municipal permitting process this spring, indicating it might pursue the state’s fast-track program.

From Los Angeles Times

Their fast-track appeal urged the justices to confirm that immigration agents have “reasonable suspicion” to stop and question Latinos who work in businesses or occupations that draw many undocumented workers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accelerate 
• assist 
• facilitate 
• hasten 
• promote 
• quicken 
• speed 
• urge