step by step
phrase
by small degrees, increments, or stages; gradually.
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step by step
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step-by-step
step-by-stepadjectivegiving or involving one task or action at a time toward a goal.
step by step
1 Americanphrase
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by small degrees, increments, or stages; gradually.
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by completing one task or action at a time toward the accomplishment of a goal.
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by taking one step after another with the feet, or at a slow, deliberate walking pace.
step-by-step
2
American
adjective
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giving or involving one task or action at a time toward a goal.
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happening or done by small degrees, increments, or stages; gradual.
step by step
Idioms
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:
“Los Angeles has made it difficult to build housing at every level of government, and Raman has shown an inclination to address this step by step to make the process faster, easier and cheaper.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Sit down with him and outline, step by step, how you work and what changes you’ve had to make to his work.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
“You’re going to see step by step, and piece by piece, they’re going to bring significant portions of their business home,” Lutnick said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
"Brokers are an anchor during turbulent times as they can help borrowers keep abreast of changes and be there step by step when going through a mortgage application," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
I can’t roll off the foot like I can with my regular leg, but I move forward step by step until suddenly I’m at the end of the bars.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
The argument had to be reduced to a mind-numbing step-by-step formal argument, and so did all the mathematics that it was based on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He said following Saturday's 0-0 draw at Hull it was vital to take the rebuild step-by-step and Tuesday's win was another positive move.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Market Hulbert provided a step-by-step guide to setting up a retirement income stream for 30 years with a guaranteed inflation-adjusted withdrawal rate of 5%.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
AI agents -- systems that act autonomously to complete tasks rather than just responding to step-by-step prompts in a chatbot -- are hailed across the industry as the next chapter in AI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
As Gia trailed her down a long hall, the woman transformed step-by-step into one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
