by fits and starts
Idioms-
see fits and starts.
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Also, in fits and starts. With irregular intervals of action and inaction, spasmodically, as in The campaign is proceeding by fits and starts. This expression began in the late 1500s as by fits, the noun fit meaning a “paroxysm” or “seizure”; starts was added about a century later.
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.
By fits and starts, kindnesses and cruelties, Frances and Robert begin to make their way down the slow, painful, potentially vengeful path toward legal separation.
From Slate • Oct. 7, 2016
By fits and starts at first, and more recently in droves, people began sharing the image and the recipe on Pinterest and Reddit, on Facebook and Twitter.
From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2016
By fits and starts, the movie inches forward, almost reluctantly, as if the director, Cam Archer, were afraid of being too obvious.
From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2011
By fits and starts the margin narrowed, between intervals of "deadlock," to a bid of 150,000,000 yen, an asked of 190,000,000 gold rubles.
From Time Magazine Archive
By fits and starts the joy of working still visited him it is true.
From Robert Louis Stevenson by Black, Margaret Moyes
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.
