little by little
34
2.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
poco a poco
- She learned to play the piano little by little, practicing a few notes each day.
- little by little lose
My kids bought me a phone and little by little I started coming back.
- My kids bought me a phone and little by little I started coming back.
- And I was losing him little by little this whole time.
- It's a gradual process, little by little, bolder and bolder as time goes on.
- Their joy, their love, their ecstasy happens little by little here and there.
- The thing is though, it can happen little by little where you may not notice it.
- And little by little, it started to come out.
- So it kind of influences them so little by little, you know, my community is changing too.
- You set a goal and you just March towards it every single day, step by step, little by little, you move towards it.
- That was true last month and it will be true next month, except that little by little overtime, that number is going to increase.
Examples
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His new wife was very religious, and little by little she got David interested in the church.
Fiction book (1999) -
And then, little by little, I won her confidence and affection.
-
My kids bought me a phone and little by little I started coming back.
-
And I was losing him little by little this whole time.
-
So then, you know, little by little she started to trust me more.
-
But then, little by little, we got used to them.
-
The thing is though, it can happen little by little where you may not notice it.
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And little by little, it started to come out.
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I need to take it in little by little, not all at once.
-
I regained my health little by little and finally returned home.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At a low speed without hurrying
273
1.9
Slowly and steadily over time
43
1.6
Happen gradually as each day passes
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
12
2.7
A little at a time
11
4.5
Very slowly in very small steps
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
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'gradually' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'little' (small amount) with the preposition 'by' and repetition—i.e., small amounts occurring one after another. This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g., Spanish 'poco a poco') and follows a straightforward logic that an average B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand.
Etymology
Little by little creates the image of doing the same small thing again and again, like adding a few coins to a jar or taking one stair at a time. That's why it means 'gradually' or 'by small amounts'.