: done, made, or accomplished piece by piece or in a fragmentary way
piecemeal reforms in the system
Synonyms
Examples of piecemeal in a Sentence
Adverb
remodeled their house piecemeal because of budgetary constraints
one well-aimed blow ripped the piñata piecemeal
Adjective
They've done piecemeal repairs in the past, but the bridge now needs major reconstruction.
Some people want the changes to be made all at once, but I think we should take a more piecemeal approach.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
If Reddit wouldn’t ban the users outright, volunteers would do it piecemeal.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for piecemeal 
Adverb
There is explanatory backstory — however piecemeal and possibly-inaccurate — but otherwise writer-director Chris Nash’s first feature approaches the usual bloody business with a sort of minimalist purity, enabled by focusing almost wholly on the POV of one Unstoppable Killing Machine.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024
If Reddit wouldn’t ban the users outright, volunteers would do it piecemeal.
—Paresh Dave, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for piecemeal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'piecemeal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Piecemeal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piecemeal. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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