INDEX:
1. moving slowly or doing something slowly
2. happening or changing slowly
3. to do something slowly
4. to move more slowly or do something more slowly
5. to move more slowly than the other people
6. to move slowly towards or away from something or someone
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ FAST
lasting or taking a long time : ↑ LONG
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1. moving slowly or doing something slowly
▷ slow /sləʊ/ [adjective]
not moving quickly or not doing something quickly :
▪ The train was slow, noisy, and uncomfortable.
▪ I was always one of the slowest runners in my class.
▪ My computer’s really slow compared to the ones at school.
slow to do something
▪ Farmers in the region have been slow to adopt modern agricultural methods.
slow in doing something
▪ The CIA has been slow in turning over the documents that Congress requested.
▷ slowly /ˈsləʊli/ [adverb]
▪ He got up slowly out of his chair and came towards me.
▪ Can you speak more slowly? I can’t understand what you’re saying.
▪ Large white clouds drifted slowly across the deep blue sky.
▪ Lynne slowly began to realize the job wasn’t as easy as it seemed.
▷ slow-moving /ˌsləʊ ˈmuːvɪŋ◂/ [adjective usually before noun]
moving slowly, especially because of being prevented from moving faster :
▪ In the evenings the roads out of town are clogged with slow-moving traffic.
▪ Lubbers are slow-moving flightless insects native to the southeastern U.S.
▪ The canal’s water was muddy and slow-moving.
▷ leisurely /ˈleʒəʳliǁˈliː-/ [adjective usually before noun]
moving or doing something slowly, especially because you are enjoying what you are doing and do not have to hurry :
▪ Sunday mornings she gets up late and then has a leisurely breakfast with her family.
▪ We spent a leisurely afternoon talking about old times.
at a leisurely pace
▪ The two set off walking down the beach at a leisurely pace.
▷ in slow-motion /ɪn ˌsləʊ ˈməʊʃ ə n/ [adverb]
showing images or movement at a slower speed than is normal - use this especially about pictures in a film :
▪ The car crash seemed to take place in slow-motion.
▪ The documentary showed the hawk’s dive in slow-motion.
▪ Fans who taped the show can replay it in slow-motion to read the messages that whizzed by on screen.
▷ at low speed /ət ˌləʊ ˈspiːd/ [adverb]
if a vehicle travels at low speed, it moves more slowly than it usually does :
▪ You’ll save money on petrol if you drive your car at low speed.
▪ The car came towards them at low speed, and then someone leaned out the back window and started shooting.
low-speed /ˈləʊ spiːd/ [adjective only before noun]
▪ Low-speed crashes can still prove deadly, especially to children.
▷ at a snail’s pace /ət ə ˈsneɪlz peɪs/ [adverb]
moving or doing something extremely slowly, especially when this is annoying :
▪ Traffic was moving at a snail’s pace.
▪ The development project seems to be moving at a snail’s pace.
▷ sluggish /ˈslʌgɪʃ/ [adjective]
moving more slowly than usual, especially because of a loss of power or energy :
▪ The car felt sluggish as we drove up the hill.
▪ The children were tired and sluggish and didn’t seem interested in any of the games.
sluggishly [adverb]
▪ ‘I should probably go,’ Mike said, rising sluggishly from the sofa.
▷ slowcoach British /slowpoke American /ˈsləʊkəʊtʃ, ˈsləʊpəʊk/ [countable noun] spoken
someone who does something too slowly, works too slowly, walks too slowly, etc :
▪ Come on, slowcoach! If you don’t hurry up, we’ll be late.
▪ I hate getting stuck behind these slowpokes on the highway.
2. happening or changing slowly
▷ slow /sləʊ/ [adjective]
▪ She’s making a slow recovery after her illness.
▪ Rebuilding the country’s economy is likely to be a long, slow process.
▪ For the first few months that I was taking lessons, my progress was extremely slow.
▷ slowly /ˈsləʊli/ [adverb]
▪ The situation is slowly improving.
▪ Slowly prices began to fall.
▪ Their relationship has developed slowly, but they now consider each other close friends.
▷ gradually /ˈgrædʒuəli/ [adverb]
slowly over a period of time :
▪ The climate is gradually becoming drier and warmer.
▪ As the weeks passed, I gradually accepted the idea of him leaving.
▪ Most patients gradually develop a resistance to the drug.
▷ gradual /ˈgrædʒuəl/ [adjective]
happening, developing, or changing slowly over a long period of time :
▪ I had noticed a gradual improvement in her written work.
▪ The chart showed a gradual rise in his temperature over the previous eight hours.
▪ Because the cell destruction is gradual, a victim’s pancreas can function normally for years.
▷ little by little/bit by bit /ˌlɪtl baɪ ˈlɪtl, ˌbɪt baɪ ˈbɪt/ [adverb]
happening or done slowly in a series of small amounts or stages - use this especially about something that is gradually improving :
▪ Little by little, Greg’s health improved.
▪ Bit by bit, the dogs got used to their new surroundings.
▪ Then add the olive oil, little by little, beating continuously until the sauce thickens.
▷ slowly but surely /ˌsləʊli bət ˈʃʊəʳli/ [adverb]
if something, especially an improvement in something, happens slowly but surely, it happens slowly and steadily until it is completed :
▪ Slowly but surely, the company is becoming successful again.
▪ She’s getting better, slowly but surely.
▷ by degrees /baɪ dɪˈgriːz/ [adverb]
happening, developing, or changing very slowly, through a series of small changes that may be difficult to notice :
▪ By degrees, little children grow less dependent on their parents.
▪ The storm intensified by degrees until the rain was pouring down.
3. to do something slowly
▷ take your time /ˌteɪk jɔːʳ ˈtaɪm/ [verb phrase]
to do something slowly because you do not want to hurry, for example when you are making a decision or doing a difficult piece of work :
▪ Just take your time. You don’t have to decide immediately.
take your time over/about
▪ Not wanting to seem too eager, Susan took her time about replying to the invitation.
take your time doing something
▪ Alice took her time telling the story, making sure to include every detail.
▷ be in no hurry /biː ɪn ˌnəʊ ˈhʌriǁ-ˈhɜːri/ [verb phrase]
use this when someone is happy to do something slowly, usually because they are enjoying what they are doing and want to continue doing it :
▪ ‘Do you mind if we look around a little more?’ ‘Not at all. I’m in no hurry.’
be in no hurry to do something
▪ The sun was shining and I was in no hurry to get back to the office.
▷ take it slowly/take things slowly /ˌteɪk ɪt ˈsləʊli, ˌteɪk θɪŋz ˈsləʊli/ [verb phrase]
to deliberately do something slowly over a long period of time, because you will get better results if you do it that way :
▪ Let’s take it slowly, one step at a time, okay?
▪ You’ve just had a serious operation - you’ll have to take things slowly for the next few weeks.
▷ dawdle /ˈdɔːdl/ [intransitive verb]
to move or work too slowly, especially because you are not really paying attention to what you are doing :
▪ We’ll never get all the shopping done today if you dawdle like this.
dawdle over
▪ I can’t see why those guys in the office are dawdling over this.
4. to move more slowly or do something more slowly
▷ slow down /ˌsləʊ ˈdaʊn/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to move or do something more slowly, or make someone do this :
▪ Slow down! You’re driving too fast!
▪ Everyone’s always rushing around trying to get things done - we all need to slow down and take it easy.
slow somebody down
▪ We could have been here hours ago, but the rain slowed us down.
▷ reduce speed /rɪˌdjuːs ˈspiːdǁ-ˌduːs-/ [verb phrase]
to drive more slowly than before - used especially on road signs or in official instructions :
▪ Reduce speed now - roadworks ahead.
▪ There is heavy fog on all roads tonight so drivers are advised to reduce speed and drive with extra care.
5. to move more slowly than the other people
▷ fall/drop behind /ˌfɔːl , ˌdrɒp- bɪˈhaɪndǁˌdrɑːp-/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to move more slowly than the other people you are with, so that you become separated from them :
▪ A half an hour into the hike, two of the boys had already fallen behind.
▪ The ship was so slow it dropped far behind the rest of the convoy.
▷ lag behind /ˌlæg bɪˈhaɪnd/ [intransitive/transitive phrasal verb]
to walk or move more slowly than other people in the group you are with :
▪ He deliberately lagged behind so he could have a cigarette.
▪ We started walking faster, not wanting to lag behind the rest of the group.
6. to move slowly towards or away from something or someone
▷ crawl /krɔːl/ [intransitive verb]
if a vehicle crawls, it moves very slowly, because there is a lot of other traffic on the road, or because something is preventing it from moving at its usual speed :
crawl along/down/up etc
▪ The old Buick barely managed to crawl up the hill.
▪ We sat in the car with the radio on, crawling along behind a long line of other cars.
at a crawl /æt ə ˈkrɔːl/ [adverb]
very slowly: :
▪ Due to a major road accident, southbound traffic is moving at a crawl.
▷ inch /ɪntʃ/ [intransitive verb]
to move very slowly and carefully, stopping regularly, for example because there is not much space or because you do not want to be noticed :
inch towards/forward/across etc
▪ The car inched forward into the narrow parking space.
▪ We watched the cat inching along the ground, not taking its eyes off the bird for a second.
inch your way along/towards/across etc
▪ I inched my way across the crowded room to where Lou was standing.
▷ edge /edʒ/ [intransitive verb]
to move very slowly and carefully, stopping regularly, for example because you do not want to be noticed or because it would be dangerous to move more quickly :
edge along/towards/across etc
▪ I started edging towards the door, hoping to slip away unnoticed.
▪ He kept an eye on me as he edged across the room.
▪ Billy edged along the ledge, trying not to look down.
▷ creep /kriːp/ [intransitive verb]
if light, a shadow, mist, water etc creeps somewhere, it moves so slowly that you almost do not notice it; if someone creeps somewhere, they move slowly and quietly so that they will not be noticed :
creep across/towards/up etc
▪ Clouds crept across the horizon, just above the line of trees.
▪ Armed men in ski masks crept up on the van and raked it with gunfire.
▪ As the sun began to set, long shadows seemed to creep out of the corners.
▪ We crept down to the deserted library at the other end of the hall, so that we could talk.