Item male composed bit by bit (9)
I believe the answer is:
piecemeal
'bit by bit' is the definition.
('piecemeal' can be a synonym of 'bit by bit')
'item male composed' is the wordplay.
'item' becomes 'piece' (piece is a kind of item**).
'composed' indicates an anagram.
'male' anagrammed gives 'meal'.
'piece'+'meal'='PIECEMEAL'
(Other definitions for piecemeal that I've seen before include "Claim epee in gradual unsystematic way" , "Unsystematically" , "by degrees" , "A bit at a time" , "taken bit by bit" .)