Phrase guide

fits and starts

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Activity which is intermittent, variable in intensity, and prolonged by interruptions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, plural, plural-only

Examples

  • Progress in this project has come in fits and starts.
  • 2007, "Australian Premier vows troops pullout," Gulf Daily News (Bahrain), 22 Dec., Paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in fits and starts undermines US military planning and risks the gains made by US troops.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

repeated bursts of activity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • they worked in fits and starts

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: burst, fit

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: sysäyksittäin — intermittent activity
  • French: à-coups — intermittent activity
  • Spanish: a trompicones — intermittent activity