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a bit

 [bit]   Origin

bit

2   [bit]
noun
1.
a small piece or quantity of anything: a bit of string.
2.
a short time: Wait a bit.
3.
Informal. an amount equivalent to 121/2 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.
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6.
Also called bit part. a very small role, as in a play or motion picture, containing few or no lines. Compare walk-on (def. 1).
7.
any small coin: a threepenny bit.
8.
a Spanish or Mexican silver real worth 121/2 cents, formerly current in parts of the U.S.
COLLAPSE
Idioms
9.
a bit, rather or somewhat; a little: a bit sleepy.
10.
a bit much, somewhat overdone or beyond tolerability.
11.
bit by bit, by degrees; gradually: Having saved money bit by bit, they now had enough to buy the land.
12.
do one's bit, to contribute one's share to an effort: They all did their bit during the war.
13.
every bit, quite; just: every bit as good.
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14.
quite a bit, a fairly large amount: There's quite a bit of snow on the ground.
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A bit is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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Origin:
before 1000; Middle English bite, Old English bita bit, morsel; cognate with German Bissen, Old Norse biti. See bite

Synonyms
1. particle, speck, grain, mite; whit, iota, jot; scrap, fragment.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bit
past tense of bite.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bit   (bĭt)  Pronunciation Key 
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 © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

bit definition


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.

Note: The information in a digital computer is stored in the form of bits.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

bit definition


  1. n.
    a jail sentence. (Underworld.) : Mooshoo did a two-year bit in Sing Sing.
  2. n.
    a small theatrical part. (From bit part.) : It was just a bit, but I needed the money.
  3. n.
    any part of an act; any isolated activity or presentation. : I didn't like that bit concerning penalties.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

a bit

  1. A small amount of anything; also, a short period of time. For example, Here's a bit of wrapping paper, or It'll be ready in a bit, or Just wait a bit. [c. 1600]

  2. Somewhat or rather, as in It stings a bit, or Will you have a bit more to eat? [Second half of 1600s] Also see bit by bit; not a bit.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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