one by one

Idioms  

1. Also, one at a time. Individually in succession, as in The ducklings jumped into the pond one by one, or One at a time they went into the office. Formerly also put as one and one and one after one, this idiom dates from about a.d. 1000.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

one by one

Later that day, they said, guards searched each cell one by one, seizing almost all personal items.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Rather than analyzing genes one by one, this technique identifies groups of genes whose behavior changes together, providing a broader picture of how immune cells respond to ultrasound treatment.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026

Enyo and the others, who didn't find partners, file out one by one.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

On the day Al-Zaharnah monitored the excavation, the crews were working at a painfully slow pace, peeling back the pancaked layers of the building one by one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Austria had wanted to punish Serbia, and then, one by one, other nations were drawn into the quarrel.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman