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2 N‑SING If you say that a person, country, or company is in the slow lane , you mean that they are not progressing as fast as other people, countries, or companies in a particular area of activity. □  Meanwhile, the economy plods along on two tracks - the express lane for big companies, the slow lane for smaller ones.

slo w mo |tion also slow-motion N‑UNCOUNT [usu in N ] When film or television pictures are shown in slow motion , they are shown much more slowly than normal. □  It seemed almost as if he were falling in slow motion.

slo w-wi tted ADJ Someone who is slow-witted is slow to understand things.

sludge /slʌ dʒ/ (sludges ) N‑VAR Sludge is thick mud, sewage, or industrial waste. □  All dumping of sludge was banned.

slug /slʌ g/ (slugs , slugging , slugged )

1 N‑COUNT A slug is a small slow-moving creature with a long soft body and no legs, like a snail without a shell.

2 N‑COUNT If you take a slug of an alcoholic drink, you take a large mouthful of it. [INFORMAL ] □ [+ of ] Edgar took a slug of his drink.

3 VERB If you slug someone, you hit them hard. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] She slugged her right in the face.

4 N‑COUNT A slug is a bullet. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ]

slug|ger /slʌ gə ^r / (sluggers ) N‑COUNT In baseball, a slugger is a player who hits the ball very hard. [AM ]

slug|gish /slʌ g I ʃ/ ADJ You can describe something as sluggish if it moves, works, or reacts much slower than you would like or is normal. □  The economy remains sluggish. □  Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.

sluice /sluː s/ (sluices , sluicing , sluiced )

1 N‑COUNT A sluice is a passage that carries a current of water and has a barrier, called a sluice gate, which can be opened and closed to control the flow of water.

2 VERB If you sluice something or sluice it down or out, you wash it with a stream of water. □ [V n] He sluiced the bath and filled it.

slum /slʌ m/ (slums ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A slum is an area of a city where living conditions are very bad and where the houses are in bad condition. □  …inner-city slums in the old cities of the north and east.

slum|ber /slʌ mbə ^r / (slumbers , slumbering , slumbered ) N‑VAR Slumber is sleep. [LITERARY ] □  He had fallen into exhausted slumber. □  He roused Charles from his slumbers. ● VERB Slumber is also a verb. □ [V ] The older three girls are still slumbering peacefully.

slu m|ber par|ty (slumber parties ) N‑COUNT A slumber party is an occasion when a group of young friends spend the night together at the home of one of the group. [mainly AM ]

slump /slʌ mp/ (slumps , slumping , slumped )

1 VERB If something such as the value of something slumps , it falls suddenly and by a large amount. □ [V prep] Net profits slumped by 41%. □ [V prep] Government popularity in Scotland has slumped to its lowest level since the 1970s. [Also V ] ● N‑COUNT Slump is also a noun. □ [+ in ] …a slump in property prices.

2 N‑COUNT A slump is a time when many people in a country are unemployed and poor. □ [+ of ] …the slump of the early 1980s.

3 VERB If you slump somewhere, you fall or sit down there heavily, for example because you are very tired or you feel ill. □ [V prep/adv] She slumped into a chair. □ [V -ed] He saw the driver slumped over the wheel.

slung /slʌ ŋ/ Slung is the past tense and past participle of sling .

slunk /slʌ ŋk/ Slunk is the past tense and past participle of slink .

slur /slɜː ^r / (slurs , slurring , slurred )

1 N‑COUNT A slur is an insulting remark which could damage someone's reputation. □ [+ on ] This is yet another slur on the integrity of the Metropolitan Police.