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Glite Dictionary
to go nowhere fast

to go nowhere fast

3 5.5
Fail to make progress even when you try hard
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : no avanzar
  • After multiple meetings, it became clear that our discussions were going nowhere fast.

So if you were to bring healthier communication into these systems, it would basically go nowhere fast.

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Examples

  • This is one I always try to contribute a little something to at least once a month, but lately it seems to be going nowhere fast.

    Blog text (30)

  • They're going nowhere fast.

    Love Happens (2009)

  • And we made the point that, this is really going nowhere fast.

    Asymmetric Disclosure (2025)

  • - This is going nowhere fast.

    Cars 2 (2011)

  • We are going nowhere fast.

    Blog text (14)

  • Just yesterday, we reported that talks were going nowhere fast.

    Blog text (20)

  • Late Notes: Just another day and the Dow is going nowhere fast.

    Blog text (32)

  • We're goin' nowhere fast.

    Streets of Fire (1984)

  • Despite working overtime every day, I felt like I was going nowhere fast in my career.

  • They invested a lot of time into the project, but unfortunately, it was going nowhere fast.

Synonyms

to go nowhere
vsto go nowhere fast
119 4.6

Fail to make progress or get any result

often involves trying hard or acting quickly yet achieving no result
to lead nowhere
vsto go nowhere fast
7 4.8

Fail to give any useful result or make progress

is often about making effort quickly but still getting no result
to come to nothing
vsto go nowhere fast
6 4.6

Fail to produce any result

often means making effort or acting quickly but still failing
to mark time
vsto go nowhere fast
  • Informal
3 6.3

Spend time waiting without making progress, doing unproductive things

focuses on active effort that fails rather than idle waiting
to spin your wheels
vsto go nowhere fast
  • Informal
2 7.9

To waste time and effort without making progress

usually implies effort or quick action but no progress
pissing in the wind
vsto go nowhere fast
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Spending time or effort on something that will not work

does not assume the task was hopeless before trying
to chase one's tail
vsto go nowhere fast
  • Informal
7.7

To waste time on busy work and make no progress

highlights activity with no forward movement despite effort or acting quickly

Antonyms

progress
∞ 2.5

Forward change toward a goal or better state

to deliver results
  • Jargon
3 3.7

Achieve the needed goal at work or in projects

How Much Progress

to succeed
846 2.0
to advance
417 3.4
to struggle
851 2.8
to go nowhere fast
  • Informal
3 5.5

Surface Forms

go nowhere fast infinitive
went nowhere fast past
gone nowhere fast past participle
going nowhere fast present participle
goes nowhere fast third person singular

Morphology

go + nowhere + fast

The meaning 'to make no progress despite acting quickly' is directly derivable from the literal parts: 'go' (move), 'nowhere' (to no place) and 'fast' (quickly) — i.e. moving quickly but not getting anywhere. This motion-to-progress metaphor is a common, compositional pattern in English (and in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reasonably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Go nowhere fast comes from the image of wheels spinning fast while a car does not go anywhere, like when it is stuck in mud. That picture explains why the phrase means 'to make no progress' or 'to achieve nothing' even when people move or act quickly.