Meaning & use
intermittent fasting
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
An eating pattern in which a person regularly alternates between periods of eating normally and periods of eating little or nothing.
Grammar: No an and no plural: she practices intermittent fasting.
Patterns
- try intermittent fasting
- intermittent fasting for something
He tried intermittent fasting, eating only between noon and eight.
Some studies suggest intermittent fasting may help with weight control.
Intermittent fasting is not suitable for everyone.
Common combinations
- practice intermittent fasting
- My sister practices intermittent fasting on weekdays.
- try intermittent fasting
- I want to try intermittent fasting for a month.
- intermittent fasting plan
- The nutritionist wrote me an intermittent fasting plan.
- benefits of intermittent fasting
- They discussed the benefits of intermittent fasting.
- intermittent fasting window
- Her intermittent fasting window closes at eight each evening.
Synonyms and how they differ
- time-restricted eating
- Describes limiting meals to certain hours each day, one common form of intermittent fasting but not the only one.
- fasting
- Is broader and can mean one long period without food for religious or medical reasons, not a repeated pattern.
- dieting
- Is about cutting calories in general, whereas intermittent fasting is about when you eat.
Opposites
Word family
- intermittent adjective
- stopping and starting at intervals
- intermittently adverb
- on and off, not continuously
- fast verb
- to go without food
- fasting noun
- the act of not eating
Commonly confused: intermittent fasting or intermittent?
intermittent fasting vs intermittent
It is often misspelled with one t or one m; remember the double t and double m pairs.
Practice
A person doing intermittent fasting ____.
Choose one answer.
Intermittent means on and off, so the person alternates eating periods and fasting periods. Eating nothing permanently is not possible, and the other options are unrelated diets.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intermittent fasting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.