stepwise
adjective, adverb
stepwise is spelled S-T-E-P-W-I-S-E: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, stepwise means “One (small) step or stage at a time; gradual; piecemeal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in stepwise?
| Letters | 8: S-T-E-P-W-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stepwise?
Stepwise appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 stepwise?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-stepwise.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stepwise
- more stepwise comparative
- most stepwise superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stepwise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
One (small) step or stage at a time; gradual; piecemeal
adverb
- 1
One step or stage at a time; step by step
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stepwise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one step or stage at a time:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | schrittweise |
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 stepwise come from?
From step + -wise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).