Slow Sləʊ Slower Slowest Fast Adjective Pace/Speed Average

• a slow pace/speed
• average earnings are rising at their slowest rate for 20 years.
• a slow driver
• progress was slower than expected.

slow

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.

Extra Examples

• Genetic evolution is necessarily slow.
• I was considerably slower than the other drivers.
• My computer is noticeably slower than before.
• She is showing a slow and steady improvement in her reading ability.
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).
3. hesitating to do something or not doing something immediately
• She wasn't slow to realize what was going on.
• The world's governments have been slow to respond to global environmental challenges.
• 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.
• They were very slow paying me.

Extra Examples

• He was noticeably slow to respond.
• They are extremely slow at reaching decisions.
4. not quick to learn; finding things hard to understand
• He's the slowest in the class.
5. not very busy; containing little action
• SYNONYM sluggish
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/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.
6. showing a time earlier than the correct time
• My watch is five minutes slow (= it shows 1.45 when it is 1.50).
7. slow film is not very sensitive to light
8. to be quick/slow to understand something
• Is he always this slow on the uptake?
9. to slowly get angry
10. fast/slow in reacting to a situation
• If you’re quick off the mark in answering these questions, you could win a prize.
• The government was slow off the mark in responding to the crisis.

Word Origin

• Old English slāw ‘slow-witted, sluggish’, of Germanic origin.