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bit

1
[ bit ]
/ bɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object), bit·ted, bit·ting.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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

1
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

Origin of bit

2
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.

Origin of bit

3
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

Word Origin for bit

Old English bite action of biting; see bite

British Dictionary definitions for bit (2 of 4)

bit2
/ (bɪt) /

noun
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with bit

bit

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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