FAST
Abbreviation with 5 meanings
| Stands for | Face, Arm, Speech, Time |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 5 |
| Categories | Medical, Science & Engineering, Education & Academia, Arts & Entertainment |
FAST has five meanings. The most common are Face, Arm, Speech, Time (neurology) and Focused assessment with sonography for trauma (emergency medicine); it can also stand for Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope, Florida Assessment of Student Thinking and Free ad-supported streaming television.
Meanings of FAST at a glance
| # | FAST stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Face, Arm, Speech, Time | Medical › Neurology |
| 2 | Focused assessment with sonography for trauma | Medical › Emergency Medicine |
| 3 | Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope | Science & Engineering › Astronomy & Space |
| 4 | Florida Assessment of Student Thinking | Education & Academia › Standardized Test |
| 5 | Free ad-supported streaming television | Arts & Entertainment › Film, Television and Theater |
1. Face, Arm, Speech, Time
Medical · Neurology Abbreviations
Public education acronym for recognizing stroke: face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty mean it is time to call emergency services immediately. It is used in campaigns by stroke organizations, health services and ambulance providers worldwide.
Example: Remember FAST: if his face droops or he can't lift both arms, call 911 right away.
The test was developed in the late 1990s for paramedics in northern England and became the basis of the UK government's "Act FAST" campaign in 2009 and the American Stroke Association's F.A.S.T. message. Because it misses some strokes affecting balance and vision, some organizations teach BE-FAST instead. In emergency medicine FAST also names a bedside trauma ultrasound exam.
2. Focused assessment with sonography for trauma
Medical · Emergency Medicine Abbreviations
Bedside ultrasound exam that looks for free fluid, usually blood, around the liver, spleen, bladder and heart in injured patients. It takes only minutes and is repeated if the patient changes.
Example: FAST positive in Morison pouch, hypotensive; to OR for laparotomy.
Standard views are right upper quadrant, left upper quadrant, pelvis and subxiphoid cardiac. A positive FAST in an unstable patient usually means surgery. In stroke awareness campaigns, FAST stands for face, arm, speech, time.
3. Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope
Science & Engineering · Astronomy & Space Abbreviations
World's largest single-dish radio telescope, built into a natural limestone basin in Guizhou province, China, and completed in 2016. Its 500-meter reflector, made of about 4,450 adjustable panels, is especially productive at discovering pulsars.
Example: FAST has discovered more than 1,000 new pulsars since beginning operations.
FAST's active surface reshapes part of the dish into a 300-meter parabola to focus on targets. Its nickname is Tianyan, "Eye of Heaven." It surpassed the 305-meter Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico, which collapsed in 2020.
4. Florida Assessment of Student Thinking
Education & Academia · Standardized Test Abbreviations
Florida's progress-monitoring assessment system, introduced in 2022-23 to replace the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA). Students take reading and math tests in three windows during the year, with the end-of-year test counting for accountability.
Example: The teacher used beginning-of-year FAST results to group students for reading intervention.
Florida eliminated the FSA under a 2022 law. Students in kindergarten through second grade take Renaissance Star assessments under the FAST umbrella, while grades 3 to 10 take FAST ELA Reading and grades 3 to 8 take FAST Mathematics. In health education, FAST also names the stroke-warning acronym (Face, Arms, Speech, Time).
5. Free ad-supported streaming television
Arts & Entertainment · Film, Television and Theater Abbreviations
Internet-delivered linear TV channels that stream scheduled programming for free with ads, like traditional cable channels. Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus and The Roku Channel are major FAST platforms.
Example: The network launched a FAST channel running classic game shows around the clock.
Pluto TV launched in 2014 and was acquired by Viacom in 2019. FAST channels are often built around a single show or genre. Smart TV makers include FAST services by default to earn ad revenue.
Related abbreviations
More neurology abbreviations
- ET – Essential tremor
- ETV – Endoscopic third ventriculostomy
- EVD – External ventricular drain
- EVT – Endovascular thrombectomy
- FTD – Frontotemporal dementia
- GBS – Guillain-Barré syndrome
- GTC – Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
- HA – Headache
See all 131 neurology abbreviations →
More emergency medicine abbreviations
- ENA – Emergency Nurses Association
- ENPC – Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course
- EP – Emergency physician
- ESI – Emergency Severity Index
- FB – Foreign body
- GLF – Ground-level fall
- GSW – Gunshot wound
- HCP – Health care proxy
See all 97 emergency medicine abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.