"piece by piece" meaning in English

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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Rather than tackling the entire project at once, work on each assignment piece by piece.",
          "type": "example"
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        {
          "ref": "1950 October, R. A. Marshall, “Kuala Lumpur, an important Malayan Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 705:",
          "text": "When the war with Japan broke out the F.M.S.R. had a busy time, but it could not make up for the lack of other communications or for general shortage of military equipment, so, piece by piece, it fell into Japanese hands.",
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      "glosses": [
        "In gradual stages."
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          "gradual",
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bit by bit"
        },
        {
          "word": "little by little"
        }
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  "word": "piece by piece"
}

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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Rather than tackling the entire project at once, work on each assignment piece by piece.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1950 October, R. A. Marshall, “Kuala Lumpur, an important Malayan Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 705:",
          "text": "When the war with Japan broke out the F.M.S.R. had a busy time, but it could not make up for the lack of other communications or for general shortage of military equipment, so, piece by piece, it fell into Japanese hands.",
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        "In gradual stages."
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bit by bit"
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        {
          "word": "little by little"
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  "word": "piece by piece"
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