snail's pace

American  

noun

1. an extremely slow rate.

   The work progresses at a snail's pace.

---

snail's pace British  

noun

1. a very slow or sluggish speed or rate

---

snail's pace Idioms  

1. A very slow pace, as in They're making progress with testing the new vaccine, but at a snail's pace. [c. 1400]

---

Etymology

Origin of snail's pace

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

But more than six months after the announcement, the status quo remains undisturbed as the DNC’s Middle East Working Group proceeds at a snail’s pace.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Everything slowed to a snail's pace and the backlog exploded.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

The railway line, China’s flagship infrastructure project in the region, has been snarled by regulatory and other issues and progressed at a snail’s pace during five years of work.

From New York Times • May 9, 2024

Five days after beating Arizona on its home court, USC was outplaying the Wildcats again with sticky defense and a snail’s pace that favored the Trojans.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2024

The queue moved at a snail’s pace; I struck up a conversation with an unemployed man in a dark suit.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane