bit Hear it!

bit¹ Definition

bit (bit)

noun

  1. the part of a bridle that goes into a horse's mouth, used to control the horse
  2. anything that curbs or controls
  3. the part of a pipestem held in the mouth
  4. the part of a key that actually turns the lock
  5. the cutting part of any tool, as the blade of a plane
  6. a drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, etc.

Etymology: ME < OE bite, a bite < bītan, bite

transitive verb bit′·ted, bit′·ting

    1. to put a bit into the mouth of (a horse)
    2. to train to the bit
  2. to check or curb
  3. to make the bit on (a key)

bit¹ Idioms

take the bit in one's teeth

or get the bit in one's teeth
  1. to clench the bit between the teeth, so that it fails to restrain: said of horses
  2. to be beyond control

bit² Definition

bit (bit)

noun

    1. a small piece or quantity
    2. a small extent or limited degree: often used with a and having adverbial force a bit bored
    3. a short time; moment wait a bit
  2. ☆

    Etymology: orig. used of a small silver coin worth of the Spanish peso (hence, normally 12 cents)

    Informal an amount equal to 12 cents: now usually in two bits, four bits, etc.
  3. ☆
    1. a small part or short performance in a play or entertainment
    2. Informal any stereotyped or repeated action, expression, etc. resorting to the aggrieved bit

Etymology: ME bite < OE bita, a piece, morsel, bit < bitan, to bite

adjective

very small a bit role

bit² Idioms

bit by bit

little by little; gradually

do one's bit

to do one's share

every bit

altogether; entirely

bit³ Definition

bit (bit)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

bite

bit4 Definition

bit (bit)

noun

  1. a single digit in a binary number system
  2. a unit of information equal to the amount of information obtained by learning which of two equally likely events occurred

Etymology: b(inary) (dig)it

bit Synonyms

bit

n.

  1. A small quantity

    piece, fragment, crumb, dot, particle, jot, trifle, mite, grain, iota, whit, tittle, scintilla, splinter, parcel, portion, drop, droplet, trickle, driblet, sprinkling, modicum, morsel, dollop, dab, dash, pinch, snippet, snip, shred, atom, speck, molecule, mote, shard, chip, fraction, sliver, segment, section, lump, slice, shaving, moiety, sample, specimen, scale, flake, collop, excerpt, scrap, part, division, share, trace, hint, touch, tad, item, chunk, paring, taste, lick, mouthful, bite, dose, dram, stub, butt, stump, snatch, a drop in the bucket*, peanuts*, chicken feed*, smithereen*, smidgen*, flyspeck*, spot*; see also division 2, part 1, piece 1.

    Antonyms quantity*, lot*, excess. *

  2. A brief time

    second, instant, minute, jiffy; see moment 1.

  3. A small degree

    little, jot, minimum, inch, tittle, modicum, hairbreadth, trifle, touch, tad, iota, mite, fraction, tolerance, margin, whisker*, wink*, hair*, skin of one's teeth*, skin of one's nose*, eyelash*. *

    Antonyms infinitude, maximum, great deal.

  4. The mouthpiece of a bridle

    curb, curb bit, snaffle, gag; see halter 1.

  5. A boring or gouging implement

    rock drill, drift, auger; see drill 2.

    Varieties of bits include: carpenter's, blacksmith's, drilling-machine, spiral, expanding, brace, expanding-center, German, half-round, plug-center, twisted, coal-boring, countersink.

do one's bit

participate, share, do one's share, contribute; see join 2, participate 1.

every bit

wholly, altogether, entirely; see completely.

bit (binary digit) Telecom Definition

  1. A small piece or quantity.
  2. A contraction of the term binary digit, a bit is an individual 1 or 0 in a binary numeration system, a base 2 numbering system. So, a bit is the smallest unit of digital data.The word first appeared in print in 1948 in a paper written by Claude Shannon, who credited John Tukey, an early computer scientist at Bell Telephone Laboratories with coining the term in 1947. Tukey later wrote that the term evolved as an alternative to bigit or binit. See also binary and bit rate.
  3. In coinage, originally a small silver coin worth one-eighth ( 1 / 8 ) of a Spanish peso. Later, a small British coin, a threepenny bit. Now commonly used to mean one-eighth ( 1 / 8 ) of a U.S. dollar, or twelve and a half (12 1 / 2 cents), usually in the phrases two bits ( 1 / 4 of a dollar, or 25 cents), four bits ( 1 / 2 of a dollar, or 50 cents), and six bits ( 3 / 4 of a dollar, or 75 cents). As the story goes, coins, especially small coins, were scarce in colonial America, so it was common practice to cut a bit (or two bits) off of a dollar coin to make change.

bit Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • feel: I also felt a bit foolish that I had not kept up with the changes in the security.
  • seem: Indeed the step from teaching dinghy sailing to managing a Flotilla can seem a bit of a stretch.
  • get: I've got bits of the Roman bridge at home.
  • look: Looks a bit like a flying egg with a hat.
  • sound: Sounds a bit depressing, wouldn't you say?

Adjective modifier

  • little: Let me talk a little bit about the range.
  • wee: Tartness will weaken as you process in canning so make sure it is a wee bit more tart than you like!
  • fair: Yeah a fair bit - more than I used to, inevitably.
  • tiny: She did a tiny bit of measuring with me and some addition [ maths ] and ' helped ' Chris with some packing.
  • least: I don't feel a bit different--not the least bit.
  • odd: Oh yes, and the odd bit of study too... How have they changed since you studied here?

Modifies a noun

  • encryption: To access the secure site, your browser must be capable of supporting 128 bit cipher strength encryption.
  • boring: I like reading diving books, but It sounds a bit boring.
  • silly: Everybody is high on language, and everybody is just a bit silly as a result.
  • naff: Some of them even reference the football World Cup, which is a bit naff in my opinion.

Noun used with modifier

drill: How do I stop my drill bit from slipping in the chuck?

Preposition: of

  • luck: With a bit of luck we can be laughing all the way to the bank.
  • fun: A bit of fun made a nice bit of cash 1 comment » Filed under Everything Else by Sarah at 12:46.
  • shock: After seven years away, single handed boating for four days solid came as a bit of a shock!

Preposition: per

pixel: This method only works for color models with 16 or fewer bits per pixel.