snail 1 of 2

noun

ˈsnāl How to pronounce snail (audio)
Definition of snailnext
as in slug
someone who moves slowly or more slowly than others go and tell the snails in the back to hurry up

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

snail

2 of 2

verb

as in to drag
to move slowly the highway construction work created a bottleneck that had cars snailing for the next five miles

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of snail
Noun
It is made with 96% snail secretion filtrate, a humectant-rich ingredient known for calming irritation, fading post-acne marks and supporting skin repair. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026 CosRx’s Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence, built on 96% snail secretion filtrate, is now a shorthand product for the entire category. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
Verb
The northern part of the island was at a standstill, schools closed, traffic snailing down the motorway. — Ariel Saramandi, The Dial, 29 July 2025 The two perpetual calendar counters are also snailed, except for the central section of the one located at 9 o'clock. — Anthony Demarco, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for snail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snail
  1. slug
  2. drag
  3. crawler
  4. crawl
  5. slowpoke
  6. creep
  7. lingerer
  8. poke
Noun
  • With the light load of powder that was behind them, these slugs couldn’t possibly have killed the tigress unless an extremely lucky shot had put them into a vital area at very close range.
    — Leslie E. Tassell, Outdoor Life, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Remember to bury the container deep enough to let the slugs in and out.
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of slug
Verb
  • The playbook that drove the first $100 million starts to drag.
    — Doug May, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This occurs with minimal working capital drag, since fulfillment runs through pre-established pharmacy networks rather than capital-intensive durable equipment logistics.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of drag
Noun
  • There is also a late-summer timeframe when an insecticide can be applied to control the insect in its crawler stage.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The rise of crawlers Search engines of the era confronted the scale problem with software.
    — Alan Bradley, ArsTechnica, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of crawler
Verb
  • Installation doesn’t require crews to manually crawl along hundreds of miles of line.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Leao Tires subbrand has a huge range of truck, bus, and tractor tires for everything from daily driving on pavement to slow crawling through muddy farm fields.
    — Michael Febbo, The Drive, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of crawl
Noun
  • Sale prices currently start from $579 per person, but there’s limited availability due to the size of the ships, so don’t be a slowpoke!
    — Hannah Chubb, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 June 2026
  • Instead, the problem is that these slowpokes haven’t been nearly as efficient.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of slowpoke
Verb
  • The location opened Monday, welcoming a consistent rush of customers into the space, even as the afternoon waned and crept into the neither-lunch-nor-dinner hours.
    — Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Up to half of the more than 200,000 mountain glaciers — vast, slow moving rivers of ice that creep across the world’s peaks — are expected to disappear by the end of this century, even if ambitious climate goals are met.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of creep
Noun
  • Nakamura designs for lingerers.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Definition of lingerer
Verb
  • Polymarket dropped him like a hot potato, though, once the CFTC began poking into his suspicious Kalshi bets.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Seething at his dad for poking at his body insecurities, the comedian dealt with his emotions like any good millennial — by podcasting about it.
    — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of poke

Phrases Containing snail

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snags
snail
snailed
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Cite this Entry

“Snail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snail. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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