bit by bit

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

Another acquaintance said that Pauline would wear two sets of clothes out of the house so that she could sneak her wardrobe out, bit by bit, without Pusser noticing.

From Slate • Nov. 6, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

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 • Apr. 4, 2025

Driving into Mandalay, the massive scale of the destruction from last Friday's earthquake revealed itself bit by bit.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2025

You’ve begun to notice, though, that, bit by bit the sense of being outside of yourself has diminished with each passing day.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman