English

Adverb

little by little

1. A small amount at a time.
   • 1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, ch. 59:

     Everything else has gone from me, little by little, but I have kept this.

   • 1905, P. G. Wodehouse, The Head of Kay's, ch. 13:

     Little by little his head cleared, and he began once more to take a personal interest in the battle.

   • 2011 March 6, Jack Healy, "Baghdad Neighborhood Celebrates as a Wall Is Taken Away," New York Times (retrieved 22 Nov 2011):

     Iraq's government has been removing blast walls little by little since late 2008, trying to restore a semblance of normalcy to this bunker city.

Synonyms

• bit by bit, incrementally, step by step, footmeal

Translations