60 Metaphors for Fast

Try this: write down the word “fast” and nothing else. It’s flat, isn’t it? Now write that the train is a sentence with no commas. Suddenly you can feel it. That’s why a good list of 60 metaphors for fast is useful. It gives the plain word some muscle. Below are sixty new ones, sorted by what’s doing the moving, each with a short meaning and an example sentence.

If you want more after this, try our other post on metaphors for fast, or the shorter metaphors for quick. For running in particular, there’s idioms for running fast.

How to Pick a Metaphor for Fast

Ask what kind of fast you mean. Fast like a sprinter is controlled. Fast like a flood is out of control. A comet is fast and brief; a bullet train is fast and steady. Pick a comparison that carries the right feeling, not only the right speed. Writers also forget sound. A “roar with wheels” is loud, a “blue thought” is silent, and you should choose on purpose.

For a clear definition of the device itself, see the Oxford Learner’s entry on metaphor.

Metaphors for Fast Animals and Creatures

1. A greyhound is a cut-loose arrow. Meaning: Built to launch, it flies once released. In a sentence: Out of the trap, the greyhound was a cut-loose arrow, gone before the crowd could shout.
2. A hummingbird is a motor with feathers. Meaning: Tiny, humming and never idle. In a sentence: Outside the kitchen window, a motor with feathers hovered over the red flowers.
3. The peregrine is a thrown stone. Meaning: It drops from the sky with no wasted motion. In a sentence: The falcon was a thrown stone, and the pigeon never saw the throw.
4. The hare is a gust that grew legs. Meaning: Wind-quick and gone over the field. In a sentence: A gust that grew legs shot across the field and into the hedge.
5. A dragonfly is a flicking needle. Meaning: It stitches the air in sharp little jabs. In a sentence: The pond was a quilt and the dragonfly a flicking needle sewing it.
6. The sailfish is a blade through blue silk. Meaning: It cuts the water so cleanly there’s hardly a mark. In a sentence: The sailfish slid through the blue like a blade through silk, then vanished.
7. A startled deer is a brown flash. Meaning: Nothing but colour and a white tail. In a sentence: All we saw of the deer was a brown flash and the swing of a branch.
8. A squirrel is a spring on the loose. Meaning: Coiled, bouncy and impossible to predict. In a sentence: The spring on the loose bounced up the oak and left bark falling on my head.
9. A gecko is a drop of water running uphill. Meaning: Smooth, quick and defying the obvious. In a sentence: On the wall, a drop of water ran uphill and slipped behind the frame.
10. The kingfisher is a blue thought. Meaning: It’s there, then it’s the next thing. In a sentence: A blue thought crossed the river and was gone. Only the ripples said it was a kingfisher.

Metaphors for Fast Vehicles and Machines

Engines make speed easy to see, so these comparisons tend to be loud.

1. A sports car is a roar with wheels. Meaning: All noise and forward push. In a sentence: At the lights the roar with wheels leaned forward, waiting.
2. The bullet train is a sentence with no commas. Meaning: It runs on without a pause or a stop. In a sentence: The bullet train, a sentence with no commas, took us from Osaka to Tokyo before lunch.
3. A jet is a silver pin pulled across the sky. Meaning: A thin line of white follows it. In a sentence: A silver pin was dragged across the afternoon, and the chalk-white thread stayed behind.
4. A motorbike is a swarm in a single bottle. Meaning: Angry, buzzing and hard to hold. In a sentence: Down the hill came a swarm in a bottle, and the street went quiet in its wake.
5. A rocket is a dare shouted at the sky. Meaning: It rises on sheer nerve. In a sentence: Every launch is a dare shouted at the sky, and for once the sky blinks first.
6. A speedboat is a zipper on the sea. Meaning: It opens the water behind it and leaves a seam. In a sentence: The speedboat ran a zipper down the bay, and the white seam spread.
7. A race car is a held fist. Meaning: Power packed tight and thrown forward. In a sentence: The pit crew watched the held fist of the lead car blow past.
8. Fibre-optic internet is a river that never rations its water. Meaning: Data flows in a flood, without trickling. In a sentence: After the upgrade, the connection was a river that never rationed its water.
9. A pneumatic drill is a woodpecker on strong coffee. Meaning: Rattling and nonstop. In a sentence: Next door, a woodpecker on strong coffee worked on the pavement all morning.
10. A sprinting cyclist is a thrown knife. Meaning: Straight, flat and tight against the air. In a sentence: He tucked low and became a thrown knife, aimed at the finish.

Metaphors for Fast Weather and Natural Forces

1. Lightning is a sharp-tongued sentence. Meaning: It says its piece and is finished. In a sentence: The storm said its sharp-tongued sentence over the ridge and went quiet.
2. A flash flood is a stampede of water. Meaning: It arrives all at once with a crowd’s weight. In a sentence: The creek was a stampede, and our camp was in its way.
3. A wildfire is a rumour with a match. Meaning: It spreads from mouth to mouth quicker than anyone can stop. In a sentence: On the dry slope the fire was a rumour with a match, and it ran.
4. An avalanche is a white wall that learned to run. Meaning: Slow to start, then impossible to stop. In a sentence: One crack, a long pause, and then the white wall learned to run.
5. A comet is a quick sentence in the margin of the night. Meaning: It crosses the sky and is gone by the next page. In a sentence: We caught a comet in the margin of the night, then it was erased.
6. A river in spring is a freight train made of water. Meaning: It’s heavy, loud and in a hurry. In a sentence: The snowmelt made the river a freight train made of water, and the bridge shook.
7. A tornado is a drill bit from the clouds. Meaning: Narrow, spinning and brutal. In a sentence: The drill bit from the clouds screwed through the trailer park in under a minute.
8. A summer squall is a slammed door. Meaning: One moment calm, the next a bang. In a sentence: A summer squall, a slammed door in the west, sent everyone off the beach.
9. Dawn in the tropics is a curtain jerked open. Meaning: Dark gives way almost with no warning. In a sentence: Near the equator dawn is a curtain jerked open; there’s no grey half hour.
10. The tide on a flat beach is a cat creeping in. Meaning: Surprisingly quick for something so quiet. In a sentence: Out on the flats the tide, that cat creeping in, had cut off the path before we noticed.

Metaphors for Fast Thinking and Fast Talking

1. A quick mind is a pinball machine in full flash. Meaning: Ideas ricochet in every direction at once. In a sentence: In meetings, her mind was a pinball machine in full flash; you had to keep up.
2. An auctioneer’s tongue is a ticker tape. Meaning: Words roll out in a stream, no gaps. In a sentence: The auctioneer’s tongue was a ticker tape; I caught only the prices.
3. A reflex is a spark across a gap. Meaning: The answer jumps before thought arrives. In a sentence: Her catch was a spark across a gap, with no thinking involved.
4. A fast reader is a combine in a wheat field. Meaning: It eats whole rows and leaves stubble. In a sentence: My brother is a combine in a wheat field, and the library leaves with him in a day.
5. A chess blitz is a boxing match in miniature. Meaning: Five seconds, a flurry, a knockdown. In a sentence: Their blitz game was a boxing match in miniature, with no judges.
6. A sudden idea is a match struck in the dark. Meaning: It’s tiny, immediate and lights up the room. In a sentence: On the train, a match struck in the dark, and the plot made sense.
7. A teenager’s thumbs are a pair of hummingbirds. Meaning: They hover and flutter at impossible speed. In a sentence: Her thumbs were a pair of hummingbirds over the phone.
8. A rumour is a bucket passed down a fire line. Meaning: Hand to hand, faster than the fire. In a sentence: The news was a bucket along a fire line, and by lunch the whole office had it.
9. A snappy comeback is a wet towel across the shins. Meaning: Quick, stinging and over in a second. In a sentence: His comeback was a wet towel across the shins, and the table laughed.
10. A fast learner is a sponge in a thunderstorm. Meaning: It soaks up everything at once. In a sentence: New apprentices are usually sponges, but Ines was a sponge in a thunderstorm.

Metaphors for Fast Time and Fast-Moving Life

Speed isn’t only for bodies. Days, weeks and years can all slip past in a rush.

1. The week is a conveyor belt on high. Meaning: Tasks arrive faster than hands can lift them. In a sentence: By Wednesday the week was a conveyor belt on high, and I was still on Monday’s boxes.
2. Childhood is a sparkler. Meaning: Bright, fizzing and used up too soon. In a sentence: When the kids are small, you think the years are long. Childhood is a sparkler.
3. A holiday is a snow cone in July. Meaning: Sweet, cold and melting before you taste it. In a sentence: Our week at the lake was a snow cone in July, gone by the weekend.
4. A hectic morning is a juggling act on a moving walkway. Meaning: Too many balls, too little space. In a sentence: The school run is a juggling act on a moving walkway, and someone’s always missing a shoe.
5. A news cycle is a revolving door. Meaning: It spins so fast nobody remembers who walked in. In a sentence: Yesterday’s scandal? The news cycle is a revolving door, and he’s already out.
6. A fad is a firework on a damp night. Meaning: A burst, a fizz, and nothing. In a sentence: The sneaker craze was a firework on a damp night.
7. A deadline is a train that won’t wait. Meaning: It leaves on time whether you’re on board or not. In a sentence: Friday’s deadline was a train that won’t wait, and my report was still on the platform.
8. A city is a clock that forgot to slow. Meaning: Everyone hurries to match it. In a sentence: New York is a clock that forgot to slow, and visitors keep time with it by accident.
9. A busy kitchen at lunch is a pit stop. Meaning: Everyone has a task and seconds to do it. In a sentence: At noon the kitchen was a pit stop; nobody spoke, everybody moved.
10. A shooting star is a dropped match. Meaning: Short, bright and gone before it lands. In a sentence: A dropped match fell across the sky, and my wish was only half-made.

Metaphors for Fast Sport and Fast Work

1. A sprinter is a shot from a cannon. Meaning: Everything goes out of the barrel at once. In a sentence: At the gun, Tessa was a shot from a cannon.
2. A fast break is a flood through a gate. Meaning: The defence opens and everything pours in. In a sentence: The fast break was a flood through an open gate, and the crowd rose.
3. A rapid-fire typist is a rainstorm on a keyboard. Meaning: A drumming roll of keys. In a sentence: Down the hall, a rainstorm on a keyboard went on for two hours.
4. A nimble goalkeeper is a spring with gloves. Meaning: He folds, then snaps back. In a sentence: The goalkeeper, a spring with gloves, went full length and stopped it.
5. A speed climber is a spider on a wall. Meaning: They scuttle upward with no pause. In a sentence: The speed climber was a spider on the wall, and the clock read six seconds.
6. A swimmer’s turn is a coin flipped in water. Meaning: Quick, clean and over before it begins. In a sentence: Her turn was a coin flipped in water; she had a body length on the rest.
7. A fast-food cook is a card dealer. Meaning: Hands move in a blur and everything lands where it should. In a sentence: The cook was a card dealer, and burgers arrived in a quick fan.
8. A skier on ice is a pencil along a ruler. Meaning: A straight, narrow dash. In a sentence: He ran the downhill like a pencil along a ruler.
9. A baseball fastball is a rumour that reaches the catcher first. Meaning: The batter barely hears it go by. In a sentence: The fastball was a rumour that reached the catcher first.
10. A fast surgeon is a conjurer with gloves. Meaning: Skilled hands that never hesitate. In a sentence: The older surgeon, a conjurer with gloves, finished before the music ended.

Keeping Speed Metaphors Fresh

The old standbys (“lightning,” “a bullet,” “the wind”) are tired. Notice I mostly stayed away from them. Choose a small, odd object, such as a zipper, a thrown knife or a spring, and let the reader do the work. And don’t stack three in a row. One good comparison per sentence is plenty.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good metaphor for fast?

“A bullet train is a sentence with no commas” is one example. A good metaphor picks one feature of speed, such as no pauses, and shows it through something unexpected.

What is the difference between a metaphor and a simile for fast?

A simile says something is fast like a cheetah. A metaphor says it is a cheetah, or a thrown stone, or whatever you choose.

Can I use these metaphors in school essays?

Yes. Change the example to fit your own topic, and avoid copying the sentences word for word.

Are there idioms about being fast?

Plenty, such as “in the blink of an eye” and “quick as a flash.” See our idioms for running fast for a full list.