little by little in WordNet English dictionary

1. a little bit at a time
   "the research structure has developed piecemeal"
   piecemeal  little by little  bit by bit  in stages  piecemeal  little by little  bit by bit  in stages 
   
2. by a short distance
   "they moved it by inches"
   by inches  little by little  by small degrees  by inches  little by little  by small degrees 
   

little by little in English Wiktionary