fasting
/ˈfæstɪŋ/noun, verb
fasting is spelled F-A-S-T-I-N-G: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fasting means “Abstinence or mortification for religious reasons, especially abstinence from food” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fasting is fastings.
How many letters and syllables are in fasting?
| Letters | 7: F-A-S-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is fasting?
Fasting appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fasting?
- US /ˈfæstɪŋ/
- UK /ˈfɑːstɪŋ/
Fasting has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Sapaa-fasting.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fasting?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fasting from its last stressed vowel (/æstɪŋ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of fasting
- fastings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fasting mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Abstinence or mortification for religious reasons, especially abstinence from food.
- 2
Abstinence from food, limiting caloric intake, for medical or health reasons, dieting.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of fast
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fasting in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | jeûne |
| German | Fasten , Fastenzeit |
| Portuguese | jejum |
| Spanish | ayuno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fasting come from?
By surface analysis, fast + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).