slow
/sləʊ/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Northumbria/slaː/
slow adjective: 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.
Adjective
slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)
- 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.
- a slow train; a slow computer
- Turkey should always be cooked in a slow oven.
- Synonyms:
- deliberate
- Not happening in a short time; spread over a comparatively long time.
- Theſe changes in the Heav’ns, though ſlow, produc’d / Like change on Sea and Land, ſideral blaſt, / Vapour, and Miſt, and Exhalation hot, / Corrupt and Peſtilent: […]1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature...
- Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.2013 May–June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200
- Synonyms:
- gradual
- Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend.
- Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student,[…]1960, Dissertation Abstracts, volume 20, page 4007
- Hey, don't yell at Homer, just because he's a little slow.1994, Greg Daniels, “Secrets of a Successful Marriage”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 22, spoken by Carl (Hank Azaria)
- Synonyms:
- dull-witted
- Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
- He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs xiv:29
- And even after the emotional cast comes off, we need to be slow about getting deeply involved in a relationship again.1999, Brian Paul Kaufman, K. Winston Caine, Prayer, Faith, and Healing: Cure Your Body, Heal Your Mind and Restore Your Soul
- Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
- That clock is slow.
- Synonyms:
- behind
- Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
- Synonyms:
- boring
- Not busy; lacking activity.
- It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier.
- I'm just sitting here with a desk of cards, enjoying a slow afternoon.
Verb
slow (third-person singular simple present slows, present participle slowing, simple past and past participle slowed)
- To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
- slow the process
- To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of.
- slow the traffic
- To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate.
- After about a minute, the creek bed vomited the debris into a gently sloped meadow. Saugstad felt the snow slow and tried to keep her hands in front of her.2012 December 26, John Branch, “Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2013
- As he passed though the station, he slowed to yell to the signalman, Frank 'Sailor' Bridges: "Sailor - have you anything between here and Fordham? Where's the mail?" Gimbert knew the mail train was due, and he didn't want to endanger another train with his burning bomb wagon.2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 42
- Synonyms:
- decelerate, slacken
Noun
slow (plural slows)
Adverb
slow (comparative slower, superlative slowest)
- Slowly.
- That clock is running slow.
- I want to dance with you nice and slow.
slow meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
slow in Hindi
- not quick in motion
- धीमा dhīmā, सुस्त sust, आहिस्ता āhistā
slow in Tamil
- not quick in motion
- மெதுவான metuvāṉa
slow in Marathi
- slow
- हळू haḷū
- slow, steady, calm
- धिमे dhime
- slow, tardy
- मंद manda
slow in Urdu
- not quick in motion
- سُسْت sust, دِھیمِا dhīmā, آہِسْتَہ āhista, کند kund, کودن kodan
More languagesFewer languages
- slow in Bengali
- ধীর dhir, মৃদু mridu, মন্দ môndô, দীর্ঘ dirgho
- slow in Telugu
- నిదానము nidānamu
- slow in Malayalam
- പതുക്കെ, വേഗം കുറയ്ക്കുക്ക, പതുക്കെ നീങ്ങുന്നത്
- slow in Kannada
- ತಡಮಾಡು, ವಿಳಂಬಮಾಡು, ನಿಧಾನಿಸು, ಮೆಲ್ಲಗೆ ಮಾಡು
- slow in Punjabi
- ਧੀਮਾ dhīmā
- slow in Gujarati
- ધીરું dhīrũ, ધીમું dhīmũ
- slow in Odia
- ମନ୍ଥର
- slow in Sanskrit
- मन्दर mandara, मन्द manda, रङ्क raṅka, अलस alasá
- slow in Assamese
- লেহেম lehem, লেহেমীয়া lehemia
- slow in Nepali
- सुस्त susta, ढिलो ḍhilo
- slow in Tagalog
- mabagal
- slow in Arabic
- بَطِيء baṭīʔ, أَبْطَأَ ʔabṭaʔa, بَطَّأَ baṭṭaʔa
- slow in Malay
- lambat, perlahan, pelan
- slow in Indonesian
- lambat, pelan, perlahan
- slow in Persian
- آهسته âheste
- slow in Thai
- ช้า cháa
- slow in Vietnamese
- chậm, chậm chạp
- slow in Myanmar
- နှေး hne:
Examples of slow in a sentence
- Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip.2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
- It will now have a larger hurtbox, in addition to having a slower recovery when the attack misses.2024 February 27, Rishov Mukherjee, “Street Fighter 6 update 1.11 patch notes: JP, Luke nerfs, Ryu buff, & more”, in Dexerto:
- Let him have time to mark how slow time goes / In time of sorrow.1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
Synonyms of slow
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of slow
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | slower |
| superlative | slowest |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | slows |
| present participle | slowing |
| past participle | slowed |
| past | slowed |
| Noun | |
| plural | slows |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | slower |
| superlative | slowest |
Origin of slow
From Middle English slaw, slow, from Old English slāw (“lazy; inert, slow”), from Proto-West Germanic *slaiw, from Proto-Germanic *slaiwaz (“blunt; dull; exhausted, faint, sluggish, weak, weary; listless, torpid; dim-witted, slow; lazy, slack”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *sleyH-u- (“bad”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch slee, sleeuw (“cramped, stiff; blunt; sour”), Danish sløv (“blunt; dull; apathetic, lethargic, listless, sluggish, torpid; drowsy”), Icelandic sljór (“dim-witted; blunt; jaded”), Norwegian Nynorsk sljo, slø, sløv (“blunt; weak; lazy”), Swedish slö (“dull; lazy, lethargic, slow, sluggish”).
Words formed from slow
- digital slow motion
- dog slow
- go-slow
- hyperslow
- infraslow
- overslow
- slofie
- Sloman
- slo-mo
- sloth
- slow-acting
- slow and steady wins the race
- Slowaris
- slow as a snail
- slow as Christmas
- slow as molasses
- slow as molasses in January
- slowass
- slow as tar
- slowback
- slowbalization
- slowball
- slow ball
- slow-belly
- slow belly
- slow boil
- slow bowler
- slow burn
- slow burner
- slow-burning
- slow but sure wins the race
- slow clap
- slowcoach
- slow contact
- slow-cook
- slow cooker
- slowcore
- slow dance
- slowdown
- slow earthquake
- slowen
- slower than molasses
- slower than molasses in January
- slow fashion
- slow food
- slow-footed
- slowfooted
- slowfox
- slow-growing
- slow head
- slowie
- slowish
- slow jam
- slow lane
- slow lemur
- slow light
- slow loris
- slowly
- slow march
- slow-march
Phrases with slow
- go slow
- slow in
- slow TV
- slow up
- slow off
- slow out
- slow down
- slow jams
- slow oven
- slow poke
- slow roll
- slow time
54 more phrasesFewer phrases
- slow worm
- slow balls
- slow boils
- slow burns
- slow claps
- slow lanes
- slow match
- slow ovens
- slow pitch
- slow pokes
- slow rolls
- slow study
- slow times
- slow train
- slow wheel
- slow worms
- slow danced
- slow dances
- slow lemurs
- slow lights
- slow motion
- slow rolled
- slow street
- slow trains
- low and slow
- slow bellies
- slow bowlers
- slow burners
- slow cookers
- slow dancing
- slow lorises
- slow marches
- slow matches
- slow rolling
- slow slicing
- slow streets
- slow studies
- slow news day
- slow steaming
- do a slow burn
- slow news days
- did a slow burn
- slow one's roll
- slow television
- does a slow burn
- done a slow burn
- slow earthquakes
- doing a slow burn
- slow off the mark
- slow on the uptake
- slow speed control
- trainwreck in slow motion
- trainwrecks in slow motion
- slow is smooth, smooth is fast
Words that rhyme with slow
Questions about slow
- What does slow mean?
- Slow means 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.
- What is slow in Hindi?
- Slow in Hindi is धीमा (dhīmā), सुस्त (sust), आहिस्ता (āhistā). See Slow meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use slow in a sentence?
- Dotcom mania was slow in coming to higher education, but now it has the venerable industry firmly in its grip.
- What part of speech is slow?
- Slow can be an adjective, a verb, a noun or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce slow?
- Slow is pronounced /sləʊ/ (UK).
Words near slow in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: slow (page history and authors); धिमे (Marathi) (page history and authors); দীর্ঘ (Bengali) (page history and authors); slow (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); slow (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ધીમું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); slow (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); अलस (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-slow.ogg, en-us-slow.ogg.
Cite this entry: “slow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.