vast
/væst/adjective, noun
vast is spelled V-A-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, vast means “Very large or wide (literally or figuratively)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in vast?
| Letters | 4: V-A-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 31 times per million words; the 3,052nd 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 vast?
Vast appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd 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 vast?
- UK /vɑːst/
- /vast/
- US /væst/
Vast has one syllable (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: En-us-vast.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with vast?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as vast from its last stressed vowel (/æst/):
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 vast
- vaster comparative
- more vast comparative
- vastest superlative
- most vast superlative
- vasts plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vast mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Very large or wide (literally or figuratively).
The Sahara desert is vast.
- 2
Very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially extent.
- 3
obsoleteWaste; desert; desolate; lonely.
noun
- 1
A vast space.
noun
- 1
Acronym of visual audio sensory theater.
- 2
Acronym of volcanic ash strategic initiative team.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense very large or wide (literally or figuratively):
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | vaste, immense |
| German | beträchtlich, weit, ausgedehnt, enorm, riesig |
| Portuguese | vasto |
| Spanish | vasto, enorme |
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 vast come from?
From Middle French vaste, from Latin vastus (“void, immense”). Related to waste and German Wüste.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).