i Register
In some senses, piecemeal is marked as idiomatic. Watch for register when choosing this word.
piecemeal
/ˈpiːs.miːl/
adv 2adj 1verb 1noun 1
Collocations
4ADJ.
unfocused
VERB + PIECEMEAL
built, discover, leaking, said, sell, swayed
PIECEMEAL + NOUN
basis, course, offerings, solution
PREP.
in, off, on, up
Definitions
adj
1
Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time.
Near-synonyms: piecewise, stepwise; see also Thesaurus:gradual
a piecemeal approach
adv
1
Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.
It’s as bad as selling a man a horse with half a dozen latent vices and watching him discover them piecemeal in the course of the hunting season.
The Western Region route, by contrast, was built up piecemeal and was not shaped in its present form until 1910.
2
Into pieces or parts.
Stoop villaine, ſtoop, ſtoope for ſo he bids, That may commaund thee peecemeale to be torne, Or ſcattered like the lofty Cedar trees. Strooke with the voice of thundring Iupiter.
A few years ago also there was the case of Kate Webster, who at Richmond murdered her mistress, and, fiend-like, cut the body up piecemeal, and tried to dispose of it in various ways by small portions.
verb
1
To divide or distribute piecemeal; dismember.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
adjective — one thing at a time
- bit-by-bit
- step-by-step
- stepwise
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
Near-synonyms: piecewise, stepwise; see also Thesaurus:gradual
Wiktionary02
a piecemeal approach
Wiktionary03
Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis, as various crises develop.
Wiktionary04
It’s as bad as selling a man a horse with half a dozen latent vices and watching him discover them piecemeal in the course of the hunting season.
Wiktionary05
The Western Region route, by contrast, was built up piecemeal and was not shaped in its present form until 1910.
Wiktionary06
The Government is under fresh pressure not to sell off piecemeal the route of the abandoned northern extension to Manchester until extra rail capacity has been clearly identified.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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