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Glite Dictionary
🐢 Not fast ⏬ To reduce speed 💼 Not busy 🤔 Not quick to learn ⏰ Shows wrong time 🗣️ Not quickly
to slow

to slow

957 1.0
Make something move or happen at a lower speed
  • verb
  • /sloʊ/
translation icon : ralentizar
  • - We've got to slow the outflow.
  • growth slowed
  • slow the rate
  • progress slowed

That means fewer neutrons, and that slows down the chain reaction.

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Examples

  • And with your help we will slow the spread of the disease.

  • I say slow down to speed up, right?

  • When you start to feel like things are, slow it down.

  • Healthcare services could potentially slow the disease process and improve the quality of their lives.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Slow your breathing down a little for me, okay?

    Last Breath (2025)

  • Their most common reaction is to try to slow things down until their questions and reservations are addressed.

    Academic text (2011)

  • If I don't eat it's going to slow down my metabolism.

  • If you're taking notes, that's going to slow down your reading time.

    Gregory B. Sadler - That Philosophy Guy

  • Can you slow down?

    The End We Start From (2023)

  • With practice, those techniques will help you slow your heart rate during meditation.

Synonyms

to slow down
vsto slow
687 1.4

To move or act more slowly

is the single-word verb used more broadly than the phrasal form
to retard
vsto slow
26 8.4

To make something happen more slowly

focuses on lowering pace rather than causing delay or hindrance
to decelerate
vsto slow
10 5.5

To slow down

is a more general verb for reducing speed in everyday use
to slow up
vsto slow
8 2.7

Move or make something move less quickly

is used for single actions rather than gradual progress
to slacken
vsto slow
1 4.9

Become or make slower, for example the wind

refers specifically to reducing speed rather than general activity

Antonyms

to accelerate
  • Specialized
331 3.7

To move faster or make something happen faster

to hasten
7 3.9

Move quickly to do something

Idioms

slow on the uptake
  • Informal
4 8.5

Not quick to understand new ideas

slow to respond
3 3.5

Takes a long time to answer messages or questions

low and slow
1 3.3

Cooking at low heat for a long time makes meat tender and adds flavor

slow off the mark
  • Informal
1 6.7

Not quick to notice things or begin actions

Phrasal Verbs

to slow down
687 1.4

To move or act more slowly

to slow up
8 2.7

Move or make something move less quickly

Compounds

slow motion
  • Specialized
53 3.2

A way of showing action in film or video that happens more slowly than real life

slow-moving
17 2.3

Moving at a low speed and not making quick progress

slow-witted
  • Offensive
3 6.7

Not quick to understand or think

slow lane
1 3.9

A relaxed way of life with less stress and hurry

slow loris
1 8.0

A small night animal like a monkey with big eyes that moves slowly

slow lane
1 2.7

A lane on a road for cars and trucks moving slower than other traffic

slow train
1 2.5

A train that stops at many stations and takes a long time

go-slow
  • UK
1 7.4

A protest where workers work slowly on purpose to pressure their employer

slow march
  • Formal
1 4.9

A slow, formal walk people make during a ceremony or funeral

trainwreck in slow motion
  • Informal
8.6

A situation that gets worse slowly in public while people cannot stop it

slow study
  • Slur
7.2

A person who takes more time to learn new things than others

slow time scale
  • Specialized
7.9

A way used in models to stretch time so events look slower than real life

slow match
  • Archaic
9.9

A cord soaked to burn slowly used to light guns or cannons

slow-burn thriller
6.1

A film or book that builds tension slowly and ends with a big moment

slow-burning passion
5.9

A strong feeling of love or interest that grows slowly

slow-burning stove
5.1

A stove that controls the air so the fuel gives heat for many hours

slow virus
  • Specialized
7.3

A germ that stays inactive in the body for a long time before causing symptoms

slow-burn process
5.9

A change that happens slowly over a long time

slow-wittedness
  • Offensive
8.1

A state when someone is slow to understand things

How Slow

to crawl
406 1.0
to slow
957 1.0
to amble
15 4.8
to walk
∞ 1.0
to jog
29 1.0
to run
∞ 1.0
sprint
55 2.1

Surface Forms

slow infinitive
slowed past
slowed past participle
slowing present participle
slows third person singular

Etymology

Slow comes from the Old English word slaw, which meant 'not quick' or 'lazy'. So the verb to slow means to make something 'not quick' or to reduce its speed.