stepwise

[ step-wahyz ]

/ ˈstɛpˌwaɪz /

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adverb

in a steplike arrangement.

Music. from one adjacent tone to another: The melody ascends stepwise.

adjective

Music. moving from one adjacent tone to another: stepwise melodic progression.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of stepwise

First recorded in 1885–90; step + -wise

Words nearby stepwise

stepson, stepstool, steptoe, step turn, step-up, stepwise, -ster, steradian, stercoraceous, stercoricolous, sterculia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stepwise in a sentence

“They have done these studies to see, stepwise, how much antibody production is going to happen at certain doses,” he explains.
Why are kids’ immune systems different from adults?|Philip Kiefer|October 30, 2021|Popular-Science
They used computer algorithms, sets of stepwise instructions that help solve mathematical problems.
Surfing the winds would make future jet travel greener|Harini Barath|April 16, 2021|Science News For Students
When eighth-notes are used, as at a, they must be approached and left stepwise.
A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons|Friedrich J. Lehmann
It was extended stepwise through different keys over the entire range of the two octaves of the voice.
Great Singers on the Art of Singing|James Francis Cooke

In this case it is best to continue stepwise through the tone of resolution.
A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons|Friedrich J. Lehmann
The perfect fifth following the diminished fifth is good when taken in an upward direction stepwise in the higher parts.
A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons|Friedrich J. Lehmann
Both notes should be approached and left stepwise, with the exception that the first may be taken by a skip.
A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons|Friedrich J. Lehmann

British Dictionary definitions for stepwise

stepwise

/ (ˈstɛpˌwaɪz) /

adjective

arranged in the manner of or resembling steps

music, US proceeding by melodic intervals of a second

adverb

with the form or appearance of steps; step by step

music, US in a stepwise motion

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012