Synonyms

fits and starts

Cultural

To do something in “fits and starts” is to do it intermittently or sporadically: “Martina has been working on her master's thesis in fits and starts; she needs to work on it consistently.”

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.

Turnarounds take time and progress in fits and starts.

From MarketWatch

But we need change driven by the next wave, which has its fits and starts.

From The Wall Street Journal

Executives have continued to discuss offering multiple “affordable models,” though not without fits and starts.

From The Wall Street Journal

It's hard to get momentum when only appearing in fits and starts, but he did a decent job overall.

From BBC

The pandemic reminded us of this in fits and starts.

From Salon

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