bit

¹ American  

[bit] / bɪt /

noun

1. Machinery.

   1. a removable drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, or the like.

   2. a removable boring head used on certain kinds of drills, as a rock drill.

   3. a device for drilling oil wells or the like, consisting of a horizontally rotating blade or an assembly of rotating toothed wheels.

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

3. anything that curbs or restrains.

4. the blade or iron of a carpenter's plane.

5. the cutting part of an ax or hatchet.

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

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verb (used with object)

bitted, bitting

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

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

3. to grind a bit on (a key).

idioms

1. 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.

bit ² American  

[bit] / bɪt /

noun

1. a small piece or quantity of anything.

   a bit of string.

   Synonyms:

   fragment, scrap, jot, iota, whit, grain, speck, particle

2. a short time.

   Wait a bit.

3. Informal. an amount equivalent to 12½ U.S. cents (used only in even multiples).

   two bits; six bits.

4. an act, performance, or routine.

   She's doing the Camille bit, pretending to be near collapse.

5. a stereotypic or habitual set of behaviors, attitudes, or styles associated with an individual, role, situation, etc..

   the whole Wall Street bit.

6. Also called bit part.  a very small role, as in a play or motion picture, containing few or no lines.

7. any small coin.

   a threepenny bit.

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

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idioms

1. bit by bit, by degrees; gradually.

   Having saved money bit by bit, they now had enough to buy the land.

2. do one's bit, to contribute one's share to an effort.

   They all did their bit during the war.

3. a bit, rather or somewhat; a little.

   a bit sleepy.

4. a bit much, somewhat overdone or beyond tolerability.

5. every bit, quite; just.

   every bit as good.

6. quite a bit, a fairly large amount.

   There's quite a bit of snow on the ground.

bit ³ American  

[bit] / bɪt /

noun

Computers.

1. 1. Also called binary digit.  a single, basic unit of digital information that is represented by one of two values, such as 1 or 0, True or False, or Yes or No.

   2. the amount of computer memory required for storing such a unit of information, consisting of one of a series of identical physical components that can assume either of two states corresponding to one of two values.

2.  baud.  a unit used to measure the speed of signaling or data transfer, equal to the number of pulses or digital bits per second.

   bit rate.

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bit ⁴ American  

[bit] / bɪt /

verb

1. simple past tense and a past participle of bite.

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B.I.T. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Industrial Technology.

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bit ¹ British  

/ bɪt /

noun

1. a small piece, portion, or quantity

2. a short time or distance

3. informal the value of an eighth of a dollar: spoken of only in units of two

   two bits

4. any small coin

5. short for bit part

6. informal way of behaving, esp one intended to create a particular impression

   she's doing the prima donna bit

7. rather; somewhat

   a bit dreary

8. 1. rather

      a bit of a dope

   2. a considerable amount

      that must take quite a bit of courage

9. slang a sexually attractive woman

10. gradually

11. informal an extramarital affair

12. to make one's expected contribution

13. (foll by as) to the same degree

    she was every bit as clever as her brother

14. not in the slightest; not at all

15. completely apart

    to fall to bits

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bit ² British  

/ bɪt /

noun

1. a metal mouthpiece, for controlling a horse on a bridle

2. anything that restrains or curbs

3. 1. to undertake a task with determination

   2. to rebel against control

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

5. the blade of a woodworking plane

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

7. the copper end of a soldering iron

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

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verb

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

2. to restrain; curb

bit ³ British  

/ bɪt /

noun

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

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

3. 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

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bit ⁴ British  

/ bɪt /

verb

1. the past tense and (archaic) past participle of bite

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bit Scientific  

/ bĭt /

1. 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.

2. See Note at byte

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bit Cultural  

1. 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.

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bit More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bit

• 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

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Discover More

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

Other Word Forms

• bitless adjective

Etymology

Origin of bit¹

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; bite

Origin of bit²

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

Origin of bit³

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

Example Sentences

With Wilder, he's been a bit more up and down - you've seen good, you've seen bad - so it leaves a question mark around what capabilities he has left.

From BBC

“We were just hanging out in New York. She’s single, I gotta show her the streets a little bit,” Wilson said on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times

Nike on Tuesday reported quarterly results that were a bit better than Wall Street’s expectations.

From MarketWatch

I’m sad it’s retreated a little bit, but I think it has to start behind the camera.

From Los Angeles Times

"I think I went a bit blank, if I'm very honest. She can't really be saying these words to me. This is a tummy bug," she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• dose
• fragment
• item
• part
• portion
• sample
• shard
• slice
• sliver
• snippet
• taste
• trace