piecemeal

piecemeal — adverb

1. in small separate stages, with each part dealt with on its own instead of throug

1.adverbC2
Definition

in small separate stages, with each part dealt with on its own instead of through one complete plan.

Example

The city repaired the old market piecemeal after several budget cuts.

pattern: do something piecemeal

Over ten years, the school grew piecemeal as new rooms were added.

development happens in separate additions

Common collocations
  • repair piecemeal
  • sell piecemeal
  • introduce piecemeal
  • grow piecemeal
Synonyms
  • gradually

    more neutral and often suggests a smooth change rather than separate parts

  • step by step

    focuses on an ordered sequence, often with clearer planning

  • bit by bit

    more informal and common in everyday speech

  • in stages

    often suggests planned phases rather than a broken-up process

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

do something piecemeal

develop piecemeal

Usage Note

Often used with verbs for repairing, changing, selling, or building. It suggests separate actions over time and often hints that the work lacks one clear overall plan.

Common Mistakes

Her fever piecemeal went down during the night.
Her fever gradually went down during the night.
'piecemeal' is used for actions done in separate parts, not for any smooth change.
The company made a piecemeal.
The company worked piecemeal.
as an adverb, 'piecemeal' describes how the work was done, not the thing itself.

piecemeal — adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Piecemeal' suggests something built or handled in separate parts, often without enough overall planning. 'Incremental' also moves in small steps, but it can sound organized and sensible, especially in business or policy. 'Gradual' focuses on slow change over time and does not by itself suggest broken-up action. 'Ad hoc' stresses that decisions are made case by case as problems appear. 'Fragmentary' is more formal and usually describes a result that feels incomplete or disconnected. A city might make incremental upgrades to its bus system through a long-term plan, but piecemeal repairs after each crisis would suggest a weaker approach. Fragmentary records are incomplete; an ad hoc response is improvised.

piecemeal ↗incrementalgradual ↗ad hocfragmentary

Common collocations

Nouns

  • piecemeal approach
  • piecemeal reform
  • piecemeal development
  • piecemeal response
  • piecemeal repair

Phrases

  • deal with something piecemeal
  • grow piecemeal over time
  • sell something piecemeal

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word began in Middle English as a compound meaning 'piece by piece'. Its second part, '-meal', came from an older English word meaning 'a time' or 'an occasion'. So the original idea was doing something one piece at a time. Later, the word also came to describe plans, repairs, or changes made in separate parts instead of as one complete whole.