Someone who is slow; a sluggard.
"The old man moved so slowly that he was practically a sluggard in his own kitchen."
In plain English: A slow is a person who moves or thinks very slowly.
"The slow in our traffic line made us arrive much later than expected."
Usage: Do not use "slow" as a noun to refer to a lazy person; instead, describe someone's action as being slow or call them sluggish. The word functions only as an adjective modifying a noun like "pace" or "driver."
To make (something) run, move, etc. less quickly; to reduce the speed of.
"The coach decided to slow the team's pace during the final minutes of the game to preserve their energy for overtime."
In plain English: To slow something means to make it go more slowly than before.
"Please slow down so we can talk safely."
Usage: Use "slow" as a transitive verb when you want something to decrease in speed, such as slowing down a car or slowing the pace of work. It requires a direct object because it means to make that specific thing move less quickly.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
"a slow walker"
"the slow lane of traffic"
"her steps were slow"
"he was slow in reacting to the news"
"slow but steady growth"
slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
"so dense he never understands anything I say to him"
"never met anyone quite so dim"
"although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"
"dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"
"he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"
"worked with the slow students"
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
"a boring evening with uninteresting people"
"the deadening effect of some routine tasks"
"a dull play"
"his competent but dull performance"
"a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"
"what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"
"tedious days on the train"
"the tiresome chirping of a cricket"
"other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome"
Taking a long time to move or go a short distance, or to perform an action; not quick in motion; proceeding at a low speed.
"The old truck moved so slowly that it took ten minutes just to cross the small bridge."
In plain English: Slow describes something that moves or happens at a low speed, taking more time than usual to get done.
Usage: Use "slow" to describe anything moving at a low speed or performing an action that takes a long time to complete. It functions as both an adjective and an adverb, such as in "a slow car" or "drive slow."
Slowly.
"He walked slowly across the muddy field to avoid sinking his boots."
In plain English: Slowly means doing something at a low speed or taking your time to do it carefully.
"The traffic was moving so slow that we arrived an hour late."
Usage: Use slow as an adverb only when describing the speed of an action in informal speech, though slowly is the standard choice for formal writing. Avoid using slow to modify verbs like "walk" or "drive" unless you are speaking casually.
The word "slow" comes from Old English, where it originally described someone who was sluggish, lazy, or late. It traveled into modern English with its current meaning of moving at a low speed.