little by little

adverb

: by small degrees or amounts : gradually

Examples of little by little in a Sentence

little by little, we pieced together the jigsaw puzzle
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This tends to keep damage localized as cracks spread little by little rather than one clean break. Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2025 And yeah, free practice is super, super important to build the pace little by little. Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 22 May 2025 And little by little, my hope was reborn – not based on humans, but on all the other species on the planet. Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 First, a long, difficult advance little by little, and then a collapse and rapid capture of one of the salients. John Feng, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for little by little

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of little by little was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Little by little.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little%20by%20little. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

little by little

adverb
: by small steps or amounts : gradually
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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