as in gradually
by small steps or amounts
little by little, we pieced together the jigsaw puzzle
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Recent Examples of little by little
Wu also placed each model between two guardrails, kept them fixed five inches apart, and added weight little by little until the structure failed.
—
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
The yellow circle disappeared little by little.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
What was once beyond the pale has little by little become accepted.
—Evan Hughes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
But little by little, a new wave of neuroscientists started questioning this status quo, Andrillon said.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for little by little
Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 1 Dec. 2025
The yellow circle disappeared little by little.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
What was once beyond the pale has little by little become accepted.
—Evan Hughes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
But little by little, a new wave of neuroscientists started questioning this status quo, Andrillon said.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for little by little
Recent Examples of Synonyms for little by little
gradually
Adverb
-
But Roto-Rooter has gradually repurchased most of its old franchisees and expanded its service business.—
Alexander Coolidge,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Wednesday will be mostly cloudy before gradually becoming more sunny.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Little by little.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/little%20by%20little. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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