baby step
noun
: a very small step or advance in progress
These companies can create products that take a real leap forward, rather than the traditional baby steps that larger companies with greater commitments must make. 
Home Theater
Home Theater baby-step
ˈbā-bē-ˌstep 
verb, transitive + intransitive baby-stepped; baby-stepping
… after the 2-1 victory that baby-stepped the sixth-place Rangers within four points of the first-place Devils … Larry Brooks
Larry Brooks "This is murder," John Chaney had said in that ever-raspy voice as he baby-stepped toward the court Thursday night. "My feet are killing me." Tom Archdeacon
Tom Archdeacon 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 This outward-facing shift is a baby step toward more meaningful internal developments, such as better representation in decision-making suites. Glenn Nelson, Outside Online, 2 Mar. 2021 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 12 July 2022 The prospect has already sent prices soaring, with every baby step towards European sanctions on oil purchases adding a few dollars a barrel, if only for a few days. Michael Lynch, Forbes, 2 June 2022 But why can’t the president just take a baby step toward open markets and plentiful supplies by removing trade barriers? James Freeman, WSJ, 10 May 2022 Instagram described the test as a sort of baby step into the hot NFT market, which has seen some high-profile digital artwork sell for millions of dollars. Marco Quiroz-gutierrez, Fortune, 9 May 2022 See More
Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 This outward-facing shift is a baby step toward more meaningful internal developments, such as better representation in decision-making suites. Glenn Nelson, Outside Online, 2 Mar. 2021 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 27 July 2022 Essentially, the streaming-service sampling serves as a trial balloon for customers and represents a baby step toward a much broader streaming component in the years ahead. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 12 July 2022 The prospect has already sent prices soaring, with every baby step towards European sanctions on oil purchases adding a few dollars a barrel, if only for a few days. Michael Lynch, Forbes, 2 June 2022 But why can’t the president just take a baby step toward open markets and plentiful supplies by removing trade barriers? James Freeman, WSJ, 10 May 2022 Instagram described the test as a sort of baby step into the hot NFT market, which has seen some high-profile digital artwork sell for millions of dollars. Marco Quiroz-gutierrez, Fortune, 9 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1825, in the meaning defined above