bit
1[ bit ]
/ bɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object), bit·ted, bit·ting.
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…
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
1First 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, adjectiveOther definitions for bit (2 of 5)
bit2
[ bit ]
/ bɪt /
noun
Origin of bit
2First 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.
Other definitions for bit (4 of 5)
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)
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.