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Definitions

one by one

ADVERB
one at a time
Synonyms
WEAK
gradually in succession individually little by little one at a time separately singly step by step

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a result, many older homeowners start outsourcing these chores one by one.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

I must have worked in 10 different factories with different types of work, such as moving chips onto the board one by one the whole day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The returning Japanese stars in City's team - fresh from winning the Women's Asian Cup - were hailed one by one after full-time as the celebrations continued long after the final whistle had been blown.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

The task is simple: rewrite sentences one by one until the essay passes various A.I. checkers like Originality.ai, GPTZero, or ZeroGPT.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2026

She was prodding the cheeses with her bony fingers, sniffing them one by one.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda