Definition of SLOW

slow

Plural: slows

Verb

Verb Forms: slowed, slowing, slows

  • To reduce the speed of something or someone.
  • lose velocity; move more slowly
  • become slow or slower
    • "Production slowed"
  • cause to proceed more slowly
    • "The illness slowed him down"
  • To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
  • To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
  • To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.

Adjective

  • Moving at a low speed; not quick or rapid.
  • not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
    • "a slow walker"
    • "the slow lane of traffic"
    • "her steps were slow"
    • "he was slow in reacting to the news"
    • "slow but steady growth"
  • at a slow tempo
    • "the band played a slow waltz"
  • (used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the correct time
    • "the clock is slow"

Adjective Satellite

  • slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; ; ; - Thackeray
    • "worked with the slow students"
  • so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; ; ; ; ; ; - Edmund Burke; ; - Mark Twain
  • (of business) not active or brisk
    • "business is dull (or slow)"

Adverb

  • without speed (`slow' is sometimes used informally for `slowly')
    • "he spoke slowly"
    • "please go slow so I can see the sights"
  • of timepieces
    • "the clock is almost an hour slow"

Adj

  • Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
  • Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
  • Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
  • Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
  • Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
  • Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
  • Not busy; lacking activity.

Noun

  • Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
  • A slow song.

Adv

  • Slowly.

Examples

  • A slow game of Words With Friends sometimes allows for deeper tactical planning.
  • a slow train; a slow computer
  • He tried to slow his opponent’s progress by blocking potential bonus squares.
  • I want to dance with you nice and slow.
  • I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.
  • It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.
  • slow the process
  • slow the traffic
  • That clock is running slow.
  • That clock is slow.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English slow, slaw, from Old English slāw (“sluggish, inert, slothful, late, tardy, torpid, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt, dull, faint, weak, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”).
Cognate with Scots slaw (“slow”), West Frisian sleau (“slow, dull, lazy”), Dutch sleeuw (“blunt, dull”), Low German slee (“dull, sluggish”), German schlehe, schleh (“dull, exhausted, faint”), Danish sløv (“dull, torpid, drowsy”), Swedish slö (“slack, lazy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted, slow”).

Synonyms

behind, boring, deadening, decelerate, dense, dim, dull, dumb, easy, ho-hum, irksome, obtuse, retard, slack, slacken, slow down, slow up, slowly, sluggish, tardily, tedious, tiresome, wearisome, careful, cautious, crawling, creeping, delay, deliberate, dilatory, dreich, dull-witted, gastropodous, glacial, gradual, heavy-footed, hinder, inactive, inching, inert, labored, lead-footed, leaden, lethargic, low-speed, lumbering, moderate, plodding, pokey, ponderous, prudent, quiet, slothful, slothlike, slow, slow as Christmas, slow as a snail, slow as molasses, slow as molasses in January, slowfooted, stately, steady, stupid, subglacial, sullen, tardigrade, tardy, testudineous, torpid, unbusy, unspeedy

Scrabble Score: 7

slow: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
slow: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
slow: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

slow: valid Words With Friends Word