bit

[ bit ]

/ bɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for bit on Thesaurus.com

noun

Machinery.

a removable drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, or the like.
a removable boring head used on certain kinds of drills, as a rock drill.
a device for drilling oil wells or the like, consisting of a horizontally rotating blade or an assembly of rotating toothed wheels.

the mouthpiece of a bridle, having fittings at each end to which the reins are fastened.

anything that curbs or restrains.

the blade or iron of a carpenter's plane.

the cutting part of an ax or hatchet.

the wide portion at the end of an ordinary key that moves the bolt.

verb (used with object), bit·ted, bit·ting.

to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse).

to curb or restrain with, or as with, a bit.

to grind a bit on (a key).

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about bit

take the bit in / between one's teeth, to cast off control; willfully go one's own way: He took the bit in his teeth and acted against his parents' wishes.

Origin of bit

First recorded before 900; Middle English bit(t)e, bit, bete “a strike or hit, a blow with a sharp weapon; the blade, tip, or point of a weapon,” Old English bíte “bite, pain, biting pain of a wound”; cognate with German Biss, Old Norse bit; see origin at bite

OTHER WORDS FROM bit

bitless, adjective

Other definitions for bit (2 of 5)

bit²

[ bit ]

/ bɪt /

noun

a small piece or quantity of anything: a bit of string.

a short time: Wait a bit.

Informal. an amount equivalent to 12½ U.S. cents (used only in even multiples): two bits; six bits.

an act, performance, or routine: She's doing the Camille bit, pretending to be near collapse.

a stereotypic or habitual set of behaviors, attitudes, or styles associated with an individual, role, situation, etc.: the whole Wall Street bit.

Also called bit part. a very small role, as in a play or motion picture, containing few or no lines.Compare walk-on (def. 1).

any small coin: a threepenny bit.

a Spanish or Mexican silver real worth 12½ cents, formerly current in parts of the United States.

OTHER WORDS FOR bit

1 particle, speck, grain; whit, iota, jot; scrap, fragment.

See synonyms for bit on Thesaurus.com

Origin of bit

First recorded before 1000; Middle English bite “a bite, mouthful, portion,” Old English bita “bit, morsel, fragment”; cognate with German Bissen, Old Norse biti; see bite

Other definitions for bit (3 of 5)

bit³

[ bit ]

/ bɪt /

noun Computers.

Also called binary digit. a single, basic unit of information, used in connection with computers and information theory.

baud.

Origin of bit

First recorded in 1945–50; b(inary) + (dig)it

Other definitions for bit (4 of 5)

bit⁴

[ bit ]

/ bɪt /

verb

simple past tense and a past participle of bite.

Other definitions for bit (5 of 5)

B.I.T.

abbreviation

Bachelor of Industrial Technology.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for bit (1 of 4)

bit¹

/ (bɪt) /

noun

a small piece, portion, or quantity

a short time or distance

US and Canadian informal the value of an eighth of a dollar: spoken of only in units of twotwo bits

any small coin

short for bit part

informal way of behaving, esp one intended to create a particular impressionshe's doing the prima donna bit

a bit rather; somewhata bit dreary

a bit of

rathera bit of a dope
a considerable amountthat must take quite a bit of courage

a bit of all right, a bit of crumpet, a bit of stuff or a bit of tail British slang a sexually attractive woman

bit by bit gradually

bit on the side informal an extramarital affair

do one's bit to make one's expected contribution

every bit (foll by as) to the same degreeshe was every bit as clever as her brother

not a bit or not a bit of it not in the slightest; not at all

to bits completely apartto fall to bits

Word Origin for bit

Old English bite action of biting; see bite

British Dictionary definitions for bit (2 of 4)

bit²

/ (bɪt) /

noun

a metal mouthpiece, for controlling a horse on a bridle

anything that restrains or curbs

take the bit in one's teeth, take the bit between one's teeth, have the bit in one's teeth or have the bit between one's teeth

to undertake a task with determination
to rebel against control

a cutting or drilling tool, part, or head in a brace, drill, etc

the blade of a woodworking plane

the part of a pair of pincers designed to grasp an object

the copper end of a soldering iron

the part of a key that engages the levers of a lock

verb bits, bitting or bitted (tr)

to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse)

to restrain; curb

Word Origin for bit

Old English bita; related to Old English bītan to bite

British Dictionary definitions for bit (3 of 4)

bit³

/ (bɪt) /

verb

the past tense and (archaic) past participle of bite

British Dictionary definitions for bit (4 of 4)

bit⁴

/ (bɪt) /

noun maths computing

a single digit of binary notation, represented either by 0 or by 1

the smallest unit of information, indicating the presence or absence of a single feature

a unit of capacity of a computer, consisting of an element of its physical structure capable of being in either of two states, such as a switch with on and off positions, or a microscopic magnet capable of alignment in two directions

Word Origin for bit

C20: from abbreviation of binary digit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bit

bit

[ bĭt ]

The smallest unit of computer memory. A bit holds one of two possible values, either of the binary digits 0 or 1. The term comes from the phrase binary digit. See Note at byte.

Cultural definitions for bit

bit

The smallest unit of information. One bit corresponds to a “yes” or “no.” Some examples of a bit of information: whether a light is on or off, whether a switch (like a transistor) is on or off, whether a grain of magnetized iron points up or down.

notes for bit

The information in a digital computer is stored in the form of bits.

Other Idioms and Phrases with bit

bit

In addition to the idiom beginning with bit

bit by bit
bite off more than one can chew
bite one's nails
bite one's tongue
bite someone's head off
bite the bullet
bite the dust
bite the hand that feeds you

also see:

a bit
champ at the bit
do one's bit
every bit
not a bit
quite a bit
take the bit in one's mouth
two bits

bit

Idioms about bit

Origin of bit

OTHER WORDS FROM bit

Other definitions for bit (2 of 5)

OTHER WORDS FOR bit

Origin of bit

Other definitions for bit (3 of 5)

Origin of bit

Other definitions for bit (4 of 5)

Other definitions for bit (5 of 5)

Words related to bit

British Dictionary definitions for bit (1 of 4)

Word Origin for bit

British Dictionary definitions for bit (2 of 4)

Word Origin for bit

British Dictionary definitions for bit (3 of 4)

British Dictionary definitions for bit (4 of 4)

Word Origin for bit

Scientific definitions for bit

Cultural definitions for bit

notes for bit

Other Idioms and Phrases with bit