bit by bit
12
2.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
poco a poco
- She learned to play the piano bit by bit, practicing a little each day.
- slowly, bit by bit
- bit by bit, she would disappear
- bit by bit, I learned
Like she's not defining herself and bit by bit, they are defining her.
- Like she's not defining herself and bit by bit, they are defining her.
- But if you just see that it's day by day, bit by bit, you, you just have to start.
- I was happy because I knew bit by bit I was destroying the relationship they had.
- And she starts snipping off the spider's legs bit by bit.
- There's no military, which means all of Eurasia falls bit by bit.
- Their manipulations are such that they will dismantle you bit by bit.
- You can start accumulating micro stress doses bit by bit.
- We waited patiently as time and our bags we hoped would pass, and bit by bit, our discouragement swelled.
- So you'd want to lower taxes gradually and also cut down on spending bit by bit.
- And I think what's in the genes are the first steps of those instructions and then they kind of unfold bit by bit.
- Well, he even when, couldn't we say he actually has a whole field of main characters and then he winnows that bit by bit.
Examples
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And it's bit by bit by bit, step by step by step.
-
"And this is how they take over us, bit by bit, house by house, area by area."
Blog text (21) -
But if you just see that it's day by day, bit by bit, you, you just have to start.
-
Undoubtedly, bit by bit, these companies are learning the hard way.
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And slowly, bit by bit, he started to come around to their philosophy.
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Bit by bit, piece by piece... just as my father created it.
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All I can do is chug along and work at it bit by bit, minute by minute.
Blog text (9) -
But, over time, by stealth, we will build our little community up bit by bit, person by person.
Blog text (9) -
Bit by bit, the noises of celebration ceased, until all attention was focused on her.
Fiction book (2001) -
Simply choose to love yourself unconditionally, and bit by bit you'll find a mode of being that comes.
Blog text (20)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At a low speed without hurrying
273
1.9
Slowly and steadily over time
107
1.9
Handle each person or thing in turn, not all at once
43
1.6
Happen gradually as each day passes
34
2.3
Gradually in small amounts over time
32
2.8
To do a task slowly, handling each part before the next
23
1.8
In a gradual way, doing each part one after another
17
7.0
Happening in small parts over time instead of all at once
7
3.7
Move forward slowly in very small steps
5
3.5
You do things gradually, finishing one part before the next
Happens slowly, a little at a time
You do a little at a time instead of trying everything at once
Antonyms
How Gradual
5
3.5
23
1.8
- Informal
12
2.7
- Informal
34
2.3
273
1.9
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'gradually' is directly and transparently derivable from 'bit' (a small amount) with 'by' indicating increments and the reduplication (bit...bit) signalling repeated small steps. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g. 'poco a poco', 'petit à petit'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase bit by bit comes from the image of doing something in very small pieces: adding or fixing tiny bits one after another, not all at once. That's why it means 'gradually' or 'a little at a time'.