slow
slow
/sləʊ/
not fast
1 not moving, acting or done quickly; taking a long time; not fast
a slow pace/speed
Average earnings are rising at their slowest rate for 20 years.
a slow driver
Progress was slower than expected.
The country is experiencing slow but steady economic growth.
Collecting data is a painfully slow process.
Oh you're so slow; come on, hurry up!
a slow, lingering death
The slow movement opens with a cello solo.
For the third game in a row City made a slow start.
She gave a slow smile.
Collocations
verbs
adverb
preposition
at
phrases
slow and steady
2 not going or allowing you to go at a fast speed
I missed the fast train and had to get the slow one (= the one that stops at all the stations).
with delay
3 hesitating to do something or not doing something immediately
slow to do something She wasn't slow to realize what was going on.
The world's governments have been slow to respond to global environmental challenges.
slow in doing something Some insurance companies are particularly slow in processing claims.
His poetry was slow in achieving recognition.
The company has been too slow in upgrading its computer systems.
slow doing something They were very slow paying me.
not clever
4 not quick to learn; finding things hard to understand
He's the slowest in the class.
not busy
5 not very busy; containing little action
SYNONYM [sluggish
Sales are slow (= not many goods are being sold).
There are slow passages in which little happens, but they help to build up the suspense.
watch/clock
My watch is five minutes slow (= it shows 1.45 when it is 1.50).
in photography
7 slow film is not very sensitive to light
Idioms
slow
/sləʊ/
to go or to make something/somebody go at a slower speed or be less active
Economic growth has slowed a little.
The bus slowed to a halt.
He has been slowed by a knee injury.
slow down The car slowed down as it approached the junction.
indications that the US economy is slowing down
You must slow down (= work less hard) or you'll make yourself ill.
slow up The game slowed up a little in the second half.
slow somebody/something Economic data for last month shows steps taken by the government are slowing growth.
We hope to slow the spread of the disease.
slow somebody/something down/up The ice on the roads was slowing us down.
He accused the government of intentionally slowing down the process.
Sending this file over the network to the printer may slow up the whole network.
Collocations Dictionary
adverb
verb + slow
begin totry to
be expected to…
phrases
slow to a crawl
slow to a snail’s pace
slow to a walk…
slow
/sləʊ/
used especially in the comparative and superlative forms, or in compounds
at a slow speed
Could you go a little slower?
slow-drying paint
slow-moving traffic
(North American English) Drive slow!
Idioms
Word Origin
Old English slāw ‘slow-witted, sluggish’, of Germanic origin.
e.g.