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Synonyms
Examples of little by little in a Sentence
little by little, we pieced together the jigsaw puzzle
Recent Examples on the Web
But little by little, as security and stability are restored, the need for weapons outside the control of the state and its institutions will disappear.
—Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2024
And then, little by little, I was also asked if could write an episode?
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Women’s football in Mexico is growing little by little.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024
The return of *NSYNC has been teased little by little.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2024
The engineering society, which played a pivotal role in restoring the city’s core destroyed by the fire Feb. 7-8, 1904, maintained the mansion and has restored it little by little over the past several decades.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2024
Instead, their opinions moved little by little on a daily basis over a three-week period, but significantly over the whole period.
—Michael Robbins, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2023
Starting now, the scales will begin to balance out little by little.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Nov. 2023
Wang’s testimony revealed how the fraud got bigger, little by little.
—Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 26 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'little by little.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Dictionary Entries Near little by little
Cite this Entry
“Little by little.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little%20by%20little. Accessed 19 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
little by little
adverb
: by small steps or amounts : gradually
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