slow down
English
editVerb
editslow down (third-person singular simple present slows down, present participle slowing down, simple past and past participle slowed down)
- (intransitive) To decelerate.
- When approaching a bend in the road, slow down, and speed up after leaving it.
- 1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 7:
- When the long, hot journey drew to its end and the train slowed down for the last time, there was a stir in Jessamy’s carriage.
- 2021 October 6, Greg Morse, “A need for speed and the drive for 125”, in RAIL, number 941, page 48:
- Then came the war... and everything slowed down.
- (transitive) To reduce the velocity, speed, or tempo of something.
- With a comfortable lead, the football team slowed down the tempo of the game.
- 2013 June 1, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly):
- A “moving platform” scheme […] is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. […] This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside?
- 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 52:
- The elimination of vacuum-braked wagons would be slowed down, and the Western Region's flirtation with diesel-hydraulic locomotives was questioned.
- (transitive, intransitive, figuratively) To become less intense, enthusiastic, etc., usually with a positive connotation, implying that one is stripped of exaggerated or unnecessary eagerness.
- Whoa, slow down there, bucko. Everyone will get a chance. Be patient.
Synonyms
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editto reduce speed
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