What does "slow" mean?
Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
Slow
/slaː/ adj, adv, noun, verb, slang
adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
- Grammar: slow is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: sluggish, after time, almost unheard-of, ambling.
- Useful contrasts: abrupt, accurate, active.
- Usage evidence: Your watch is ten minutes slow.
How to use "slow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "slow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "slow" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "slow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "slow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "slow" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "sluggish" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "slow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
- 2 A slow song.
Verb
- 1 To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of. transitive
"slow the process"
- 2 lose velocity; move more slowly wordnet
- 3 To keep from going quickly; to hinder the progress of. transitive
"slow the traffic"
- 4 become slow or slower wordnet
- 5 To become slow; to slacken in speed; to decelerate. intransitive
"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."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 cause to proceed more slowly wordnet
Adjective
- 1 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"
- 2 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: […]"
- 3 Of reduced intellectual capacity; not quick to comprehend. derogatory, informal
"Experienced classroom teachers are well acquainted with the attention-seeker, the shy girl, the aggressive boy, the poor concentrator, the slow student […]"
- 4 Not hasty; not tending to hurry; acting with deliberation or caution.
"He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding."
- 5 Behind in time; indicating a time earlier than the true time.
"That clock is slow."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Lacking spirit; deficient in liveliness or briskness.
- 7 Not busy; lacking activity.
"It was a slow news day, so the editor asked us to make our articles wordier."
Adjective
- 1 (of business) not active or brisk wordnet
- 2 slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity wordnet
- 3 not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time wordnet
- 4 at a slow tempo wordnet
- 5 (used of timepieces) indicating a time earlier than the correct time wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Slowly.
"That clock is running slow."
Adverb
- 1 without speed (‘slow’ is sometimes used informally for ‘slowly’) wordnet
- 2 showing a time that is earlier than the actual time wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Your watch is ten minutes slow."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "slow"?
Common synonyms include: sluggish, after time, almost unheard-of, ambling, apathetic, arid.
How do you use "slow" in a sentence?
Your watch is ten minutes slow.
How do you pronounce "slow"?
Pronounced /slaː/.
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”).