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

The returning Japanese stars in City's team - fresh from winning the Women's Asian Cup - were hailed one by one after full-time as the celebrations continued long after the final whistle had been blown.

From BBC

Dario was horrified as he watched his colleagues be fired one by one, which he considered needlessly cruel.

From The Wall Street Journal

The technique involves attaching an original sketch to an adhesive backing, cutting it out, strategically sprinkling sand on the desired areas, then removing any misplaced grains one by one.

From Los Angeles Times

Willem introduced him as a friend from Leiden and he shook hands with us one by one.

From Literature

“I got that bell wadded tighter than a tick. Tansy wants us in school, she’ll have to come out and pick us off one by one.”

From Literature