slow-walk

verb

slow-walked; slow-walking; slow-walks

transitive verb

: to delay or prevent the progress of (something) by acting in a deliberately slow manner
They can still slow-walk the confirmation process, though, stretching out the Senate's consideration for each Cabinet-level pick for days, which collectively could strangle business in the chamber for months.Tamar Hallerman
The suit claims the university slow-walked a formal complaint filed last December, dragging out the internal investigation until some of the accused male swimmers graduated and could no longer be punished.Thomas J. Prohaska
slow-walking noun
The slow-walking of processing asylum claims, and the huge backlog of cases at ports of entry, are only adding to tensions in the region. Roberta Jacobson and Dan Restrepo

Examples of slow-walk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Apart from the libel suits, which the President can add teeth to by threatening regulatory sanctions or by slow-walking mergers and other business deals that require government approval, this is the persecution of people and organizations based on point of view. Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025 Waltz’s nomination, among dozens of other lower-level nominees, was slow-walked by Democrats, who refused to offer their support for Trump’s picks, forcing the upper chamber to alter its rules to bypass their opposition. Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2025 Attorneys for Flores on Tuesday made the filing, which also accuses the league of slow-walking the arbitration process. Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 18 Sep. 2025 Democrats claim Republicans have deliberately slow-walked the process to further their own agenda while Republicans claim Democrats are ballooning state spending. Isabella Volmert, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slow-walk

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of slow-walk was in 1965

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slow-walk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slow-walk. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

slow–walk

verb
: to delay or prevent the progress of (something) by acting in a deliberately slow manner
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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