incremental

American  

[in-kruh-men-tl, ing-] / ˌɪn krəˈmɛn tl, ˌɪŋ- /

adjective

1. increasing or adding on, especially in a regular series.

   small, incremental tax hikes.

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incremental British  

/ ˌɪnkrɪˈmɛntəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, using, or rising by increments

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Other Word Forms

• incrementally adverb

Etymology

Origin of incremental

First recorded in 1675–85; increment + -al ¹

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.

Example Sentences

That “better” isn’t a lightning bolt so much as a slow accumulation — small, incremental shifts that bring something closer, then closer still.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

Esco will fund the transaction with $1.4 billion worth of stock and about $900 million in cash, partially funded through incremental debt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

There is incremental demand for mature nodes, spurred by artificial intelligence and a broad recovery in demand for legacy chips, the analysts note.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

If Apple can capture just 10% of that market for budget laptops, and do so with a 19% operating margin, the company can boost earnings per share by an incremental 3 cents, according to Mohan.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

A new logic of repetition and incremental variation took its place.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall