piecemeal
adjective
[ ˈpiːsmiːl ]
• characterized by unsystematic partial measures taken over a period of time.
• "the village is slowly being killed off by piecemeal development"
Similar:
a little at a time,
piece by piece,
bit by bit,
gradually,
slowly,
in stages,
in steps,
step by step,
little by little,
by degrees,
in/by fits and starts,
in bits,
bittily,
irregularly,
erratically,
unevenly,
discontinuously,
disjointedly,
unsystematically,
inchmeal,
piecemeal
adverb
• in an unsystematic way, through partial measures taken over a period of time.
• "many organizations have been built up piecemeal"
Origin:
Middle English: from the noun piece + -meal from Old English mǣlum, in the sense ‘measure, quantity taken at one time’.
