step by step
23
1.8
- idiom
:
paso a paso
- She explained the process step by step, ensuring everyone understood each stage.
- follow step by step
- build step by step
- step by step process
That's my book that lays out step by step how to heal.
- That's my book that lays out step by step how to heal.
- I've got it written out step by step to AT.
- You know, God brought you step by step and you had plateaus.
- And I want to analyze step by step this entire saga.
- So little by little, step by step, we're trying to get people's status.
- Come on every day, step by step, brick by brick.
- We have an online course which teaches people step by step what to do.
- And we have all the information step by step, like click here, download here.
- But the main idea should really be step by step, get back and connect yourself again.
Examples
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GO! is designed to help middle and high school students work through a research project step by step.
Academic text (2013) -
So we take each one step by step and deal with it.
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But step by step we can start to figure it out.
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Yeah, well, we, we actually lay this out step by step in the book.
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And you know, we do step by step stuff for your body.
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I'll take you through it step by step.
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Okay, so if we're gonna do this, let's do it step by step.
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You develop who you are as a person step by step as you make those first choices about yourself.
Fiction book (1992) -
The site also has a link called "Research Tools," which shows the user, step by step, how to conduct industry research.
Academic text (2002) -
We have an online course which teaches people step by step what to do.
Synonyms
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
2.8
Done in separate parts, each finished before the next
17
7.0
Happening in small parts over time instead of all at once
12
2.7
A little at a time
7
3.7
Move forward slowly in very small steps
5
3.5
You do things gradually, finishing one part before the next
2
6.0
Happens in small steps rather than all at once
You do a little at a time instead of trying everything at once
Happens slowly, a little at a time
To finish a very large task by doing small easy steps
How Gradual
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'in a gradual way' is directly derivable from the constituents: repeating 'step' with the preposition 'by' signals successive increments or stages, so the phrase literally means doing things one step after another. This compositional pattern is common in English and has clear equivalents in many languages (e.g., Spanish 'paso a paso', French 'pas à pas'), making it immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows the words.
Etymology
Step by step comes from the simple picture of taking one step after another when you walk. So it means 'in a gradual way, doing each part or stage one after another'.