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.
In the weeks since the fragile detente, Washington has accused Beijing of slow-walking approvals for rare earth exports and reneging on its promise made in Geneva, with Trump expressing increasing urgency to speak to his Chinese counterpart to iron things out. Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 7 June 2025 Hence, Xi’s strategy of slow-walking the process, one that’s worked so far. William Pesek, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025 But the Trump administration has accused Beijing of slow-walking a pledge made in Geneva to approve the export of additional critical minerals, known as rare earths, to the United States. Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 5 June 2025 White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said China was slow-walking approval of export licenses for rare earth materials, which was also a part of the Geneva agreement. Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 5 June 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

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Cite this Entry

“Slow-walk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slow-walk. Accessed 12 Jun. 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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