piece by piece
One part incrementally
Piece by piece means gradually, one part at a time.
It describes disassembly, assembly, or any process that proceeds in increments rather than all at once: They dismantled the engine piece by piece.
The phrase often emphasizes methodical effort or painstaking progress: She rebuilt her life piece by piece after the divorce.
- bit by bitIn small increments
- brick by brickGradually, through incremental effort
- layer by layerIn successive horizontal sections
- graduallyIn slow stages
- one at a timeIn single succession
little by little · slow and steady · incrementally · assemble · putting together · building up · reconstructing · painstakingly · progressively · unraveling · step-by-step · methodically · systematically · patchwork · layering · build · analyze · dissect
- gradual phrasesbit by bit, little by little, step by step, one by one, inch by inch
- gradual progressbaby steps, inching, crawling, creeping, steady growth
- breaking downsplitting, fragmenting, dividing, breaking up, partitioning
- detailsdetail, particular, specific, fact, point
- progressprogress, in progress, promotion, raise, making progress
piece by pieceall at once
Occurring without gradual buildup
in one go · wholesale · all together · en masse · in its entirety
piece by pieceinstantaneously
Occurring without time passing
immediately · suddenly · all at once · in a flash · overnight
piece by pieceas a whole
Considered as one unit
intact · entire · undivided · in one piece · whole