piecemeal
/ˈpiːs.miːl/adjective, adverb, verb, noun
piecemeal is spelled P-I-E-C-E-M-E-A-L: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, piecemeal means “Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in piecemeal?
| Letters | 9: P-I-E-C-E-M-E-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,176th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is piecemeal?
Piecemeal appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,176th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce piecemeal?
- US /ˈpiːs.miːl/
Piecemeal has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-piecemeal.ogg, En-au-piecemeal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of piecemeal
- piecemeals present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- piecemealing participle, present
- piecemealed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does piecemeal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Made or done in pieces or one stage at a time.
Near-synonyms: piecewise, stepwise; see also Thesaurus:gradual
adverb
- 1
Piece by piece; in small amounts, stages, or degrees.
- 2
Into pieces or parts.
verb
- 1
To divide or distribute piecemeal; dismember.
noun
- 1
A fragment; a scrap.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Piecemeal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | scheibchenweise, häppchenweise, bruchstückhaft, kleinteilig, in kleinen Schritten, stückweise |
| Portuguese | fragmentado, fragmentada , aos poucos |
| Spanish | por partes , en partes/piezas/pedazos |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does piecemeal come from?
From Middle English pecemele, from pece (“piece”) + mele (from Old English mǣlum (“at a time”), dative plural form of mǣl (“time, measure”), taking the place of Old English styċċemǣlum (“in pieces, bit by bit, piecemeal; to pieces, to bits; here and there, in different places; little by little, by degrees, gradually”); equivalent to piece + -meal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).