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.
Since Donald Trump took office, on January 20th, his Administration has slow-walked or outright failed to comply with court orders related to a range of issues, most notably immigration and government funding. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025 The company has accused the FAA of imposing unnecessary environmental reviews and slow-walking approvals in ways that hinder SpaceX's progress. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Mar. 2025 Zoom in: More trouble for the majority could be brewing with Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expected to slow-walk a special election to replace Stefanik, Semafor's Kadia Goba reported. Stef W. Kight, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025 More discussions, and probably a phone call between the Russian and U.S. presidents, will be needed to clarify whether Mr. Putin’s slow-walking approach is just an attempt to bury the whole U.S. plan, or just evidence of an abundance of caution, experts say. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Mar. 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 3 Apr. 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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