Synonyms

bit by bit

Idioms

Also, little by little. Gradually, by small degrees, slowly. For example, The squirrels dug up the lawn bit by bit, till we had almost no grass, or Little by little he began to understand what John was getting at. The first term was first recorded in 1849, although bit in the sense of “small amount” is much older; the variant dates from the 1400s.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The good feeling I had from reading that story out loud had been growing bit by bit all afternoon, till it ended up being a full-blown happiness by the time I got home.

From Literature

They could not get through as easily and, as Spurs saw more of the ball, the hosts grew in confidence bit by bit and built their way back into the game.

From BBC

She has since sold off her gold bit by bit to get by.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We had some difficult scenes to do, and inch by inch, slowly slowly, bit by bit we built up this very complex relationship, to say the least."

From BBC

While the garden is rooted in local culture, built bit by bit from the flotsam and jetsam of Los Angeles locations and plants native to the ecology, the programming is more global in approach.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023