done or happening gradually at different times and often in different ways, rather than carefully planned at the beginning 逐渐做成(或发生)的;零敲碎打的;零散的 a piecemeal approach to dealing with the problem 全无章法的解决问题的方式 piecemeal changes 零星的变化 Alterations have been carried out on a piecemeal basis. 改动是在零敲碎打的基础上进行的。
Oxford Collocations DictionaryPiecemeal is used with these nouns:- approach
- fashion
- reform
- …
Word OriginMiddle English: from the noun piece + -meal from Old English mǣlum, in the sense ‘measure, quantity taken at one time’.