Standard Lemma guide

hard-and-fast

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

strictly maintained; not subject to variation

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Qualifier: etc

Examples

  • to stick to hard-and-fast rules

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

(of rules) stringently enforced

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • hard-and-fast rules

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: strict

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

First attested 1867, originally of a ship on shore.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: rigorós — strictly maintained
  • Finnish: ehdoton — strictly maintained
  • French: strict — strictly maintained
  • French: absolu — strictly maintained
  • French: qui ne tolère pas d'exception — strictly maintained
  • Greek: απαράβατος (aparávatos) — strictly maintained
  • Polish: żelazny — strictly maintained
  • Portuguese: estrito — strictly maintained
  • Portuguese: rígido — strictly maintained
  • Portuguese: rigoroso — strictly maintained
  • Russian: строгий (strogij) — strictly maintained
  • Russian: твердый (tverdyj) — strictly maintained
  • Russian: строгое правило (strogoje pravilo) — strictly maintained
  • Spanish: estricto — strictly maintained
  • Spanish: rígido — strictly maintained
  • Swedish: benhård — strictly maintained
  • Swedish: fastslagen — strictly maintained
  • Swedish: järnhård — strictly maintained
  • Swedish: orubblig — strictly maintained