Stepmeal

//ˈstɛpˌmiːl// adv

adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    One step at a time; step by step; gradually; by degrees. not-comparable, uncommon

    "He who would see it with his mind's eye must begin by very little, and then by little and little climb nigher and nigher, and stepmeal, as if he were climbing on a ladder, and would be up on some sea'cliff; […]"

Example

More examples

"He who would see it with his mind's eye must begin by very little, and then by little and little climb nigher and nigher, and stepmeal, as if he were climbing on a ladder, and would be up on some sea'cliff; […]"

Etymology

From Middle English *stepmele, *stapmele, from Old English stæpmǣlum (“step by step; gradually, by degrees”), equivalent to step + -meal.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.