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definitions

bitmap

or bit map

[ bit-map ]
/ ˈbɪtˌmæp /

noun

a piece of text, a drawing, etc., represented, as on a computer display, by the activation of certain dots in a rectangular matrix of dots.

Nearby words

  1. biting mania,
  2. biting midge,
  3. biting point,
  4. biting stage,
  5. bitingly,
  6. bitmap font,
  7. bitola,
  8. bitolj,
  9. bitonal,
  10. bitonality
Related formsbit·mapped, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for bitmap

bitmap

/ (ˈbɪtˌmæp) /

noun computing

a picture created on a visual display unit where each pixel corresponds to one or more bits in memory, the number of bits per pixel determining the number of available colours

verb -maps, -mapping or -mapped

(tr) to create a bitmap of
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

Word Origin and History for bitmap

bitmap

n.

1973, in computer jargon, from bit (n.2) + map. Literally, a map of bits.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for bitmap

bitmap

[ bĭt′măp′ ]

Computer Science

A set of bits that represents a graphic image. Each bit or group of bits corresponds to a pixel in the image. Optical scanners and fax machines convert text or pictures into bitmaps.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.