stepwise
[ step-wahyz ]
/ ˈstɛpˌwaɪz /
adverb
in a steplike arrangement.
Music.
from one adjacent tone to another: The melody ascends stepwise.
adjective
Music.
moving from one adjacent tone to another: stepwise melodic progression.
Words nearby stepwise
stepsibling,
stepsister,
stepson,
stepstool,
steptoe,
stepwise,
ster.,
steradian,
sterco-,
stercobilin,
stercolith
Example sentences from the Web for stepwise
Remember that it is easiest to leap from one register to a higher, a stepwise ascent being an insidious snare.
The Boy's Voice |J. Spencer CurwenSo at a definite, measurable rate this stepwise disintegration proceeds.
A Brief Account of Radio-activity |Francis Preston VenableWhen the syncopated note belongs to the harmony of the measure, it may be left by a skip or stepwise progression.
A Treatise on Simple Counterpoint in Forty Lessons |Friedrich J. LehmannWhen the music moves about stepwise in close proximity above and below the breaks, we have another cause of flattening.
The Boy's Voice |J. Spencer Curwen
British Dictionary definitions for stepwise
stepwise
/ (ˈstɛpˌwaɪz) /
adjective
arranged in the manner of or resembling steps
music, US
proceeding by melodic intervals of a second
adverb
with the form or appearance of steps; step by step
music, US
in a stepwise motion