slowest

1. 1
   adjective

   Superlative form of slow.

   The slowest train on the line takes nearly two hours.

   Of all the animals tested, the sloth showed the slowest reactions.

   Note

   One inflected word carries every meaning of the adjective slow, not just speed. The slowest clock in the house is the one furthest behind the true time. The slowest afternoon is the one that drags longest. Said of a person, it ranks how quick they are to understand, and it keeps that sense's derogatory edge. The -est ending does the comparing, in place of most slow.

2. 2
   adverb

   Superlative form of the adverb slow.

   The glacier moves the slowest of any in the region.

   He reacted the slowest when the alarm went off.

   Note

   Here the comparison is about how an action is done, and the form usually comes with the: the glacier moves the slowest, he reacted the slowest. It comes from slow used as an adverb meaning "slowly", so it shares its spelling with the adjective superlative. In more formal writing, most slowly is the usual choice: he reacted most slowly.

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