BY FITS AND STARTS Definition & Meaning

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by fits and starts

see fits and starts.
Also, in fits and starts. With irregular intervals of action and inaction, spasmodically, as in The campaign is proceeding by fits and starts. This expression began in the late 1500s as by fits, the noun fit meaning a “paroxysm” or “seizure”; starts was added about a century later.

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Example Sentences

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Naomi Osaka’s comeback season has been pocked by fits and starts as she reacquaints herself with her athleticism and competitive fire.

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Past efforts to tighten security cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo have progressed by fits and starts.

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For all the divisions we have faced in our history and all the serious trauma of recent years, the U.S. has endured to build, by fits and starts, a more perfect union.

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After the Civil War, the breakup movement kept going by fits and starts, over who was getting the rawest deal on you-name-it.

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But he will, by fits and starts, be able to get some legislation through.

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