Definition of "piecemeal"

Such assistance, I am convinced, must not be on a piecemeal basis, as various crises develop.

1947, George Marshall, The Marshall Plan Speech

But the copious and intertwined associative links warrant our accepting the former alternative: cyclamen—favourite flower—favourite food— artichokes; pulling to pieces like an artichoke, leaf by leaf (a phrase constantly ringing in our ears in relation to the piecemeal dismemberment of the Chinese Empire)—herbarium—bookworms, whose favourite food is books.

1953, James Strachey, translation of Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, pg. 224

The dictionaries themselves cover this additional lexis in what can best be described as a piecemeal fashion, with an obvious but unwarranted bias towards colonial era lexis.

2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes‎, page 312

It’s as bad as selling a man a horse with half a dozen latent vices and watching him discover them piecemeal in the course of the hunting season.

1914, Saki, The Forbidden Buzzards

The Western Region route, by contrast, was built up piecemeal and was not shaped in its present form until 1910.

1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 96

Stoop villaine, ſtoop, ſtoope for ſo he bids,That may commaund thee peecemeale to be torne,Or ſcattered like the lofty Cedar trees.Strooke with the voice of thundring Iupiter.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, Act IIII, scene ii

A few years ago also there was the case of Kate Webster, who at Richmond murdered her mistress, and, fiend-like, cut the body up piecemeal, and tried to dispose of it in various ways by small portions.

1888 October 3, “The Whitehall Murder”, in Daily Telegraph, London

Thus the world Is all to piecemeals cut

a. 1695, Henry Vaughan, Ode