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.
Bass, who was seated in a prominent position next to First Lady Melania Trump during the fire station briefing, thanked Trump for arriving in the city so soon after his inauguration and countered his claim that the city would slow-walk rebuilding efforts. Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2025 But Judge Aileen Cannon, who critics accused of intentionally slow-walking the historic proceedings, dismissed the case in July, siding with Trump's attorneys by saying Smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional. Avery Lotz, Axios, 16 Jan. 2025 The deportation of undocumented immigrants that Trump has repeatedly promised would require other types of cooperation, such as processing border crossings, and Mexico could slow-walk this process. Scott Morgenstern, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2025 The slow-walk destruction of Native Americans, Los Angeles’ 1871 Chinese massacre and the marginalizing and demonizing of Latinos and Asians don’t square with the kumbaya California vibe. Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near slow-walk

Cite this Entry

“Slow-walk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slow-walk. Accessed 30 Jan. 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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