piecemeal

adverb piece·meal \ ˈpēs-ˌmēl , -ˈmēl \

Definition of piecemeal

1 :one piece at a time :gradually

2 :in pieces or fragments :apart

See piecemeal defined for kids

Examples of piecemeal in a Sentence

remodeled their house piecemeal because of budgetary constraints
one well-aimed blow ripped the piñata piecemeal

Recent Examples of piecemeal from the Web

The administration instead has worked piecemeal to give U.S. commanders in Iraq and Syria more latitude to increase the pace of military operations.

— greg jaffe and philip rucker, chicagotribune.com, "As Trump's patience wanes, McMaster navigates divide over U.S. Afghan strategy," 4 Aug. 2017
The administration instead has worked piecemeal to give U.S. commanders in Iraq and Syria more latitude to increase the pace of military operations.

— philip rucker, Washington Post, "National security adviser attempts to reconcile Trump’s competing impulses on Afghanistan," 4 Aug. 2017
The constitution has been amended piecemeal over the past century, collecting amendments as varied as livestock care standards and locations where casinos can be built.

— jackie borchardt, cleveland.com, "10-year committee to streamline Ohio constitution ends work 4 years early; critics say there's little to show," 21 July 2017
Like Lafayette, Jefferson City materialized piecemeal, as owners of 10 adjoining long-lot plantations, where slaves raised indigo, rice and sugar cane, independently decided to develop their tracts.

— richard campanella, NOLA.com, "How New Orleans took Uptown from Jefferson Parish," 11 July 2017
Details have come out piecemeal through exhaustive hearings the past few months since Nolan’s house was raided by police in February.

— scott wartman, Cincinnati.com, "Tim Nolan's attorney questions legality of sex trafficking charges," 7 July 2017
Like a lot of technological advances added to the 217-year-old building, telephonic technology came piecemeal.

— gillian brockell, Washington Post, "A catalogue of White House technological upgrades: Flushing toilets, a phone line, air conditioning. Oh, and Twitter.," 28 June 2017
While many national cemetery projects are done piecemeal, the decision was made to do a complete $5.3 million rehabilitation, the first for the NPS' 14 cemeteries.

— phil gast, CNN, "Grave injustice: Park restores dignity to fallen Americans," 27 May 2017
The campus science labs alone are home to millions of dollars of high-value equipment, which could be sold piecemeal.

— gordon r. friedman, OregonLive.com, "An Oregon lawmaker's strange crusade to save an Iowa town -- with Chinese money," 21 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'piecemeal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of piecemeal

14th century

piecemeal Synonyms

Synonyms

gradationally, inchmeal, little by little, piece by piece, gradually

Antonyms

abruptly, suddenly

Related Words

hierarchically; crescively, increasingly, progressively; fractionally, imperceptibly; slowly

Near Antonyms

acutely, sharply, steeply; hastily, precipitously

piecemeal

adjective

Definition of piecemeal

:done, made, or accomplished piece by piece or in a fragmentary way

piecemeal reforms in the system

See piecemeal defined for English-language learners

Examples of piecemeal in a Sentence

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.