piece by piece

In stages, gradually, as in He took the clock apart piece by piece, or Let's go over your exam paper, piece by piece. Also see bit by bit.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Related Words

moderately partly somewhat slightly partially regularly increasingly constantly gently deliberately steadily progressively continuously all any exclusive individual particular personal respective

Examples from the Web for piece by piece

Contemporary Examples

Nothing on immigration reform (or an incremental, piece-by-piece approach, which will result in nothing).
All I Want for Christmas Is a New GOP
Mark McKinnon
December 24, 2012