piecemeal
Americanadverb
-
piece by piece; one piece at a time; gradually.
to work piecemeal.
-
into pieces or fragments.
to tear a letter piecemeal.
adjective
adverb
-
by degrees; bit by bit; gradually
-
in or into pieces or piece from piece
to tear something piecemeal
adjective
Etymology
Origin of piecemeal
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English pecemele; replacing Old English styccemǣlum, see piece, -meal
Explanation
When you do something piecemeal, you're doing it little by little, but in a seemingly random way, with no order or system. Say you're a computer geek and someone calls you desperate to find out how to fix a computer that's just crashed. If you respond piecemeal to the caller's questions, she'll have to call you back many times to get all the information she needs to get the computer up again. You may like to talk to her, but she's not going to be impressed with your computer smarts.
Vocabulary lists containing piecemeal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But a piecemeal approach to industrial policies is not the answer.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The situation highlights what community organizers and the site’s leadership say is a piecemeal approach to the protection and preservation of one of the city’s most important cultural landmarks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
However, critics have described the proposals as "piecemeal" and a "missed opportunity" for children's safety.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Most parents lose sleep over the amount of piecemeal work required to cobble together a summer schedule; very few relish the planning and spreadsheets and carpool rota involved in keeping their kids safe and occupied.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Companies installed systems piecemeal or found that one computer-software system was good for the accounting department and another system was best for inventory management and a third was best for e-mail.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
