little by little
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the sun came up, "we watched the water recede little by little" before the fire department arrived, Mikey said.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
"And little by little, we saw real changes," she added.
From Barron's • Mar. 2, 2026
Since then, he’s been building up his bitcoin portfolio little by little, investing more money at least once every two weeks.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 7, 2026
Like the rich man who lost his money, it happened to me little by little then all at once.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025
With this to guide him he struggled forward, little by little, up toward the dunes.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
