Definition of "stepwise" []

• Marked by a gradual progression as if step by step: "Quantum mechanics is a natural system of stepwise interactions that governs very small things” ( Malcom W. Browne). (adjective)
• Music Moving from one tone to an adjacent one. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This connection leads to the hypothesis that a long-term stepwise displacement of the y-direction will lead to a inflow of more Atlantic water to the Arctic Ocean and long term reduction in the extend of the Arctic ice cover."
• "When Mosher and Pratt broke out the figures by age, the percentage of those expected to suffer from impaired fecundity increased in stepwise fashion."
• "To reach that stage, the informal English is replaced by progressively more detailed sequences of statements, in the process known as stepwise refinement."