one by one

Idioms

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.

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.

See Examples For:

one by one

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

Absorbed students carefully threaded wires into junction boxes to make circuits connected to lights, bulbs flickering on one by one to signal a job well done.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

Rather than scramble to find and plug vulnerabilities one by one, its AI-powered tool is designed to enable companies to keep closer tabs on endpoints—the devices where workers and AI agents do their jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

And then here come my Jews, one by one down the ladder.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023