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

Back then, the speaker’s office slow-walked the case after the woman reported the harassment allegations to the speaker’s then-chief of staff in April 2023, the Tribune found. — Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

In 2024, Newsom threatened to sue the city for slow-walking a farmworker housing project, which local officials eventually approved in May. — Ethan Varian, Mercury News, 16 July 2026

Districts slow-walking their responses isn’t the only obstacle to getting records from schools. — Holly McDede, ProPublica, 4 June 2026

Cities like Los Angeles already appear to be slow-walking changes, legal action moves slowly, and to be successful, the law needs accountability structures with timelines. — Christina Mojica, Oc Register, 26 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for slow-walk

• alcock
• beanstalk
• bedrock
• boardwalk
• catwalk
• cornstalk
• crosswalk
• deadlock
• feedstock
• fetlock
• flintlock
• goshawk

Kids Definition

slow–walk

verb

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