节节败退

to retreat again and again in defeat / to suffer defeat after defeat

see 節骨眼|节骨眼[jie1 gu5 yan3]

festival / holiday / node / joint / section / segment / part / to economize / to save / to abridge / moral integrity / classifier for segments, e.g. lessons, train wagons, biblical verses / CL:個|个[ge4]

joint; node / (bound form) section; segment / solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar) / seasonal festival / (bound form) to economize; to save / (bound form) moral integrity; chastity / classifier for segments: lessons, train wagons, biblical verses etc / knot (nautical miles per hour)

to retreat / to decline / to move back / to withdraw

to retreat; to withdraw / to reject; to return (sth) / to decline

to defeat / to damage / to lose (to an opponent) / to fail / to wither

to retreat in defeat

step by step / little by little