vast

See also: VAST, väst, and -vast

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (RP) enPR: väst, IPA^(key): /vɑːst/
• (Northern England, Scotland) IPA^(key): /vast/
• (US) IPA^(key): /væst/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æst, -ɑːst

Adjective

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

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

   The Sahara desert is vast.

   There is a vast difference between them.

2. Very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially extent.
   • 1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter III.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, page 136:

     The exiguity and ſmallneſſe of ſome ſeeds extending to large productions is one of the magnalities of nature, ſomewhat illuſtrating the work of the Creation, and vaſt production from nothing.

   • 1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 703:

     Another place where, from the aesthetic point of view, a long tunnel would have been a real blessing, is East London as viewed from the carriage window on the old Great Eastern line. Despite a vast change from crowded slums to tracts of wasteland, due to its grim wartime experience, this approach still provides a shabby and unworthy introduction to the great capital.

   • 2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 2, page 172:

     Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.

3. (obsolete) Waste; desert; desolate; lonely.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:

     the empty, vast, and wandering air

Translations

very large or wide (literally or figuratively)

Arabic: شَاسِع (šāsiʕ), وَاسِع (wāsiʕ) Belarusian: шыро́кі (be) (šyróki), веліза́рны (vjelizárny), вялі́зны (vjalízny), велічэ́зны (vjeličézny) Bulgarian: обши́рен (bg) (obšíren), огро́мен (bg) (ogrómen) Catalan: vast (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 浩大 (zh) (hàodà) Czech: rozlehlý (cs) Danish: enorm Dutch: enorm (nl) Esperanto: vasta (eo) Estonian: tohutu, ääretu, suur (et) Finnish: valtava (fi), laaja (fi) French: vaste (fr), immense (fr) Galician: vasto Georgian: ვრცელი (vrceli), ვეებერთელა (veebertela), უზარმაზარი (uzarmazari), თვალუწვდენელი (tvaluc̣vdeneli), უსაზღვრო (usazɣvro) German: beträchtlich (de), weit (de), ausgedehnt (de), enorm (de), riesig (de) Greek: απέραντος (el) (apérantos) Hungarian: óriási (hu), hatalmas (hu) Irish: uafásach Italian: ampio (it), vasto (it), esteso (it), grande (it), immenso (it) Japanese: 広大な (ja) (こうだいな, kōdai na), 莫大な (ja) (ばくだいな, bakudai na) Korean: 광대하다 (ko) (gwangdaehada), 거대하다 (ko) (geodaehada), 광막하다 (gwangmakhada) Latin: effūsus Maori: whakatikotiko Mari: Eastern Mari: кумда (kumda) Norwegian: Bokmål: enorm Polish: obszerny (pl), rozległy (pl), zdecydowany (pl) (in some collocations) Portuguese: vasto (pt) Russian: обши́рный (ru) (obšírnyj), огро́мный (ru) (ogrómnyj) Slovak: rozľahlý, rozsiahly, drvivý (figuratively), enormný (sk) Spanish: vasto (es), enorme (es) Swedish: enorm (sv) Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ (rgya chen po) Turkish: dev (tr), engin (tr), muazzam (tr) Ukrainian: широ́кий (šyrókyj), величе́зний (velyčéznyj)

Noun

vast (plural vasts)

1. (poetic) A vast space.
   • c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:

     they have seemed to be together, though absent, shook hands, as over a vast, and embraced, as it were, from the ends of opposed winds.

Derived terms

• ultravast
• vastly
• vast majority
• vastness

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/

• Audio:

  (file)

• 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

Declension of vast
uninflected	vast
inflected	vaste
comparative	vaster
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		vast	vaster	het vastst het vastste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	vaste	vastere	vastste
	n. sing.	vast	vaster	vastste
	plural	vaste	vastere	vastste
definite		vaste	vastere	vastste
partitive		vasts	vasters	—

Derived terms

• rotsvast
• vastbinden
• vastgoed
• vasthouden
• vastklampen
• vastleggen
• vastlopen
• vastmaken
• vaststellen
• vastzitten

Related terms

• vestigen

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

   Mijn hond at mijn huiswerk. — Ja, vast!

   My dog ate my homework. — 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