fits and starts
CulturalExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I see a lot of promise with Siri AI, but given the fits and starts leading up to this point, I am proceeding with caution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
The affordability tour has only happened in fits and starts, however, and the president has not always stuck to the script.
From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026
Breaks in the case have come and fits and starts.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
After a courtship that unfurled in fits and starts, they married in 1996.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026
Her cape, Seven realized, her breath coming in fits and starts, was poison-proof thanks to Thorn.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
