snail's pace

noun

: an extremely slow pace

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web But that opportunity does not come from most brick-and-mortar banks, which have been increasing their savings account rates at a snail's pace. Ken Tumin, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2022 That upended pre-pandemic trends, in which chains were taking a little bit of share from independents, but at a snail's pace. Danielle Wiener-bronner, CNN, 30 Apr. 2022 Sparty needs to run to generate most of their offense, but Davidson plays at a snail's pace, 304th in adjusted tempo and are top 10 in transition defense. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2022 While the global vaccination program continues at a snail's pace, public health experts are encouraging other mitigation strategies be used slow the spread of the virus and thus reduce the risk of new variants appearing. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 15 Aug. 2021 Unfortunately, the traffic was bumper to bumper and crawling at a snail's pace. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2021 The snail's pace delivery of the rental assistance has put many renters at risk of losing their homes, said Ingrid Gould Ellen, a New York University professor who has studied emergency rental assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. USA Today, 15 Aug. 2021 Instead, the auditors have moved as a snail's pace and had to shut down Thursday after counting about 500,000 ballots. Bob Christie, ajc, 16 May 2021 Instead, the auditors have moved as a snail's pace and had to shut down Thursday after counting about 500,000 ballots. Bob Christie, ajc, 16 May 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'snail's pace.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of snail's pace was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near snail's pace

Cite this Entry

“Snail's pace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snail%27s%20pace. Accessed 23 Mar. 2023.

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