incremental
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incremental
Explanation
If you are making incremental progress in math, you are moving slowly but steadily forward. Incremental describes regular, measurable movements that are usually small. Sometimes a basketball team might make a huge improvement, like a team that is 32-50 one year and then 50-32 the next. More often, progress is small and tiny — incremental. Anytime something is changing in any way, and the change is slow and steady, you can talk about incremental changes. A lot of life is like that. You might prefer to be making great or even miraculous progress, but incremental gains are better than none at all.
Vocabulary lists containing incremental
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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ACT Vocabulary List
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This Week in Words: October 28 - November 3, 2017
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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.
“What we have seen so far is increasingly interpreted through the lens of ‘salami-slicing’ tactics—limited, incremental escalation designed to weaken capabilities before a larger confrontation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"Engagement is slow, progress is incremental, and reversals are frequent," is the UN's sober summary of the past five years of on-off dialogue.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Kraft Heinz is also increasing its incremental investments in the business by $100 million to a total of $700 million this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Rubner added that leveraged exchange-traded-fund assets have declined more than $60 billion from a June peak, “removing one of the largest sources of incremental leverage that had fueled the first-half rally.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
They wanted him to eliminate slavery all at once, but Lincoln preferred an incremental approach.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
