: done, made, or accomplished piece by piece or in a fragmentary way
piecemeal reforms in the system
Synonyms
Examples of piecemeal in a Sentence
Adverb
remodeled their house piecemeal because of budgetary constraints
one well-aimed blow ripped the piñata piecemeal
Adjective
They've done piecemeal repairs in the past, but the bridge now needs major reconstruction.
Some people want the changes to be made all at once, but I think we should take a more piecemeal approach.
Recent Examples on the Web
Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
This is what a savvy, and perhaps ruthless, tech company intent on cornering a market does, and has done ever since — press its advantage to snap up competing ideas or companies, wholesale, sometimes, but piecemeal too.
—Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2023
Such a maneuver aims to also ensure that other divisive issues for Republicans, such as funding for Ukraine and natural disaster relief, are settled piecemeal rather than as part of one giant deal.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
By that afternoon, Dyn had managed to get the attack under control and had started sending DNS responses piecemeal to its clients, quieting the different networks clamoring for answers from its servers, one by one.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
Some of these were originally written in English during the years Kracauer spent as a German émigré in the United States; others are becoming available piecemeal in translation.
—Johannes Von Moltke, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
So far, attempts to curtail the collection of users’ data has been piecemeal, largely driven by state-level laws and individual enforcement actions.
—WIRED, 1 Nov. 2023
And, while expensive, these tokens can be bought in piecemeal, and the end result has a longevity that clothing doesn’t.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2023
Because although huge quantities of Western weapons have kept Ukraine in the fight, many of them have been delivered piecemeal.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2023
Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023
The company exited from AMC in piecemeal fashion, sold the undeveloped Beverly Hills site and slashed its stake in Legendary.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 6 Dec. 2023
Proposals under consideration by top Democrats vary from a comprehensive top-to-bottom shift of tax burden from the middle class to higher earners and corporations, to piecemeal ideas to tax online poker games or raise fees for government services.
—Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 26 Dec. 2023
The biggest difference about this album may lie in the downright newfangled way he’s chosen to release the material, in piecemeal isolation, before giving us the big data dump.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Dec. 2023
And for Palestinians who live abroad, like Mohammad Malaka, the only closure available is through piecemeal social media video updates circulating of his dead relatives.
—Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023
There has been promising work on standardized datasheets that provide answers to the key questions developers may have, but their adoption has been piecemeal so far and data-hosting sites have little incentive to require them.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Nov. 2023
Both senators acknowledged their approach may be piecemeal but that election interference would be among the first problems tackled.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner, 14 Sep. 2023
The phasing out of radiation — and the stepping down of cancer treatment in general — is piecemeal by nature, Cecchini said.
—Angus Chen, STAT, 15 Aug. 2023
See More
Adverb
But the few hostage testimonies that have been made public so far have been piecemeal, in many cases conveyed secondhand through family members.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
This is what a savvy, and perhaps ruthless, tech company intent on cornering a market does, and has done ever since — press its advantage to snap up competing ideas or companies, wholesale, sometimes, but piecemeal too.
—Brian Merchant, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2023
Such a maneuver aims to also ensure that other divisive issues for Republicans, such as funding for Ukraine and natural disaster relief, are settled piecemeal rather than as part of one giant deal.
—Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
By that afternoon, Dyn had managed to get the attack under control and had started sending DNS responses piecemeal to its clients, quieting the different networks clamoring for answers from its servers, one by one.
—Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023
Some of these were originally written in English during the years Kracauer spent as a German émigré in the United States; others are becoming available piecemeal in translation.
—Johannes Von Moltke, The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2023
So far, attempts to curtail the collection of users’ data has been piecemeal, largely driven by state-level laws and individual enforcement actions.
—WIRED, 1 Nov. 2023
And, while expensive, these tokens can be bought in piecemeal, and the end result has a longevity that clothing doesn’t.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2023
Because although huge quantities of Western weapons have kept Ukraine in the fight, many of them have been delivered piecemeal.
—Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Sep. 2023
Adjective
The piecemeal conquest of Britain that started under Claudius, the destruction of Jerusalem under Vespasian, and Trajan’s wars in Romania, Armenia, and Iraq weren’t small events.
—Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023
The company exited from AMC in piecemeal fashion, sold the undeveloped Beverly Hills site and slashed its stake in Legendary.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 6 Dec. 2023
Proposals under consideration by top Democrats vary from a comprehensive top-to-bottom shift of tax burden from the middle class to higher earners and corporations, to piecemeal ideas to tax online poker games or raise fees for government services.
—Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 26 Dec. 2023
The biggest difference about this album may lie in the downright newfangled way he’s chosen to release the material, in piecemeal isolation, before giving us the big data dump.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 5 Dec. 2023
And for Palestinians who live abroad, like Mohammad Malaka, the only closure available is through piecemeal social media video updates circulating of his dead relatives.
—Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023
There has been promising work on standardized datasheets that provide answers to the key questions developers may have, but their adoption has been piecemeal so far and data-hosting sites have little incentive to require them.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Nov. 2023
Both senators acknowledged their approach may be piecemeal but that election interference would be among the first problems tackled.
—Samantha-Jo Roth, Washington Examiner, 14 Sep. 2023
The phasing out of radiation — and the stepping down of cancer treatment in general — is piecemeal by nature, Cecchini said.
—Angus Chen, STAT, 15 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piecemeal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Articles Related to piecemeal
Dictionary Entries Near piecemeal
Cite this Entry
“Piecemeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piecemeal. Accessed 17 Jan. 2024.
Copy Citation
More from Merriam-Webster on piecemeal
Nglish: Translation of piecemeal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of piecemeal for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share