Showing results for "bit"

• past tense form of bite.
• past participle of bite.

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• bit
  bit

  noun
• B.I.T.
  B.I.T.

  abbreviation

  Bachelor of Industrial Technology.

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; see origin at 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; see bite

Origin of bit³

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

Explanation

Let me give you a bit of advice: Use bit when you're talking about a small amount. Bit is a small but useful word. Like drill bits, which fit on the end of a drill to change its function, the word bit has several uses. Usually, it means a little piece of something, even time. If you ask me when I'm arriving, I might say, "In a little bit." A bit can also be a short theatrical entertainment, the metal piece a horse bites on, or digital information that's 1/8 the size of a byte.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bit bitted bitting

The reason they’re able to take that approach is a bit of a paradox.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat last year, he said movies from black American film-makers, such as Love and Basketball, Friday and Mahogany inspired him "to dream a bit" and fuelled his own love of movies.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The trading week is pointing to a positive start as tensions appear to be cooling a bit between the U.S. and Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

Humidity levels will remain a bit above normal, especially for coastal areas, due to the warm ocean temperatures, Lewis said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

He liked playing tag with a bit of hare-skin, and when the cub pounced on him he rolled on the ground, making odd yip-and-yowls which the cub guessed was his way of laughing.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

So he was to be bitted and bridled, it seemed, in the future.

From Marriage à la mode by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

The Nestor spoke—the colt submitted— And, like his ancestry, was bitted.

From Fables of John Gay (Somewhat Altered) by Gay, John

Ah, a tender mouth was bitted and bridled at last! the reins were in the hands of the public, and it would drive me—where?

From Life on the Stage by Morris, Clara

Then come the lads: in equal ranks before their fathers' eyes They shine upon their bitted steeds, and wondering murmurs rise From men of Troy and Sicily as on their ways they fare.

From The Æneids of Virgil Done into English Verse by Morris, William

The lady’s bridle, should be, what is called a double bitted bridle, consisting of a bit with a curb-chain; and a snaffle, two separate head-stalls, united by one brow-band, each, with a separate rein.

From The Lady and Her Horse Being Hints Selected from Various Sources and Compiled into a System of Equitation by Jenkins, T. A.

Tishy was bitting off a loose end of thread, which gave her a determined and ferocious expression, but whether she could have seen anything or not the widow felt uncertain.

From Strangers at Lisconnel by Barlow, Jane

I have not seen a dozen coachmen, private or public, to whom my youngest child could not have given invaluable suggestions as to the bitting, harnessing, and handling of his cattle.

From Germany and the Germans From an American Point of View by Collier, Price

Still no suspicion of the truth reached me that since I came to live with him my uncle had been bitting and breaking his tongue.

From The Light in the Clearing by Bacheller, Irving

It is true, he was on the whole rather an innocent monster; and between bitting and bridling, coaxing and humouring, might have been made to pad on well enough.

From St. Ronan's Well by Scott, Walter, Sir

This bit is what is called the persuader, and it is the best bit that ever was used for bitting colts.

From Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets by Young, Daniel

Related Words

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