slow-walk

verb

ˈslō-ˌwȯk 

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

The diplomat slated to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Libya has withdrawn her name from the process as the Senate has been slow-walking the nomination process. —Annabella Rosciglione, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Oct. 2024

Earlier this year, Newsom threatened legal action against Half Moon Bay for slow-walking a farmworker housing project. —Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2024

Did the Supreme court slow-walk the Trump immunity case? —Bart Jansen, The Courier-Journal, 1 July 2024

Then–Secretary of State Clinton was accused by her opponents of slow-walking the appropriate military countermeasures, costing lives. —Matthew Kirschenbaum, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

slow–walk

verb

: to delay or prevent the progress of (something) by acting in a deliberately slow manner