vast

English Online Dictionary. What means vast‎? What does vast mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus (“void, immense”). Related to waste and German Wüste.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: väst, IPA^(key): /vɑːst/
• (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /vast/
• (US) IPA^(key): /væst/
• Rhymes: -æst, -ɑːst

Adjective

vast (comparative vaster or more vast, superlative vastest or most vast)

1. Very large or wide (literally or figuratively).

2. Very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially extent.
3. (obsolete) Waste; desert; desolate; lonely.

Translations

Noun

vast (plural vasts)

1. (poetic) A vast space.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• ATVs, tavs, VTAs, vats, VSAT

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin vāstus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbast]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈvast]

Adjective

vast (feminine vasta, masculine plural vasts or vastos, feminine plural vastes)

1. vast, wide

Related terms

• vastitud

Further reading

• “vast” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “vast”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “vast” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “vast” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑst/
• Hyphenation: vast
• Rhymes: -ɑst

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch vast, from Old Dutch fast, from Proto-West Germanic *fastī, from Proto-Germanic *fastuz.

Adjective

vast (comparative vaster, superlative meest vast or vastst)

1. firm, fast, tight
2. fixed, not moving or changing

   Kunnen we de vaste lasten dragen? ― Can we sustain the fixed costs?

3. stuck, unable to get out

   Haar hand zat vast in het gat. ― Her hand was stuck in the hole.

4. (chemistry) in the solid state

   Bij kamertemperatuur is het een vaste stof. ― It is a solid substance at room temperature.

5. (botany) perennial

   Hij heeft een aantal vaste planten gepoot. ― He has planted a few perennial plants.

6. (of a telephone) using a landline

   Is er een vaste verbinding? ― Is there a landline connection?

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: vas
• Berbice Creole Dutch: vasi
• Negerhollands: vast, vas
• →? Sranan Tongo: fasi, fasti
  • → Caribbean Javanese: pasi, fasi

Adverb

vast

1. (obsolete) almost; about; close to
2. surely, certainly

   Synonym: zeker

   vast en zeker ― most certainly

3. (informal, sarcastically) sure, yeah, right

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vast

1. inflection of vasten:
   1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
   2. imperative

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta, from Proto-Finno-Permic *wasta (“a place opposite or across”). Cognate to Finnish vasta, Votic vassõ, Northern Sami vuostá, Erzya вастомс (vastoms, “to meet; to receive”), Moksha васта (vasta, “place; distance”) and possibly Western Mari ваштареш (vaštareš, “against; across”).

Adverb

vast (not comparable)

1. maybe, possibly

   Synonyms: ehk, vahest, võib-olla

2. recently, just, now

   Synonyms: äsja, just, nüüdsama, alles

Derived terms

References

Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta. Cognates include Finnish vasta and Estonian vast.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑstɑ/, [ˈʋɑs̠t]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑst/, [ˈʋɑʃt]
• Rhymes: -ɑst
• Hyphenation: vast
• Homophone: vasta

Adverb

vast

1. just now

Synonyms

• ikkee, vastikkää

Preposition

vast (+ partitive)

1. against, towards

Derived terms

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 645

Livonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vasta, from Proto-Finno-Permic *wasta (“a place opposite or across”). Cognate with Finnish vasta-, vastaan, vasten.

Preposition

vast

1. against

Ludian

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Old East Slavic хвостъ (xvostŭ); see vasta.

Noun

vast

1. bundle (of switches for the sauna)

Old Norse

Verb

vast

1. second-person singular past active indicative of vera

Romani

Etymology

Inherited from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀳𑀢𑁆𑀣 (hattha), from Sanskrit हस्त (hásta). Cognate with Gujarati હાથ (hāth), Marwari and Nimadi हाथ (hāth), Sindhi هَٿُ (hatu).

Noun

vast m (nominative plural vasta)

1. (anatomy) hand

Derived terms

• del vast

References

Further reading

• Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “vast”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 297
• Marcel Courthiade (2009) “o vast, -es- m. -a, -en-”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 373

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French vaste, from Latin vastus.

Pronunciation

Adjective

vast m or n (feminine singular vastă, masculine plural vaști, feminine and neuter plural vaste)

1. vast

Declension

Related terms

• vastitate

Veps

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Old East Slavic хвостъ (xvostŭ); see vasta.

Noun

vast

1. broom, whisk
2. bath broom

Declension