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bit - 27 dictionary results

bit

1  [bit] noun, verb, bit⋅ted, bit⋅ting.
Use bit in a Sentence
–noun
1. Machinery.
a. a removable drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, or the like.
b. a removable boring head used on certain kinds of drills, as a rock drill.
c. 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.
–verb (used with object)
7. to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse).
8. to curb or restrain with, or as with, a bit.
9. to grind a bit on (a key).
—Idiom
10. take the bit in or 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.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME bite, OE: action of biting; c. G Biss, ON bit. See bite

Related forms:
bitless, adjective

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 12 1/2 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.
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 12 1/2 cents, formerly current in parts of the U.S.
—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.
14. quite a bit, a fairly large amount: There's quite a bit of snow on the ground.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME bite, OE bita bit, morsel; c. G Bissen, ON biti. See bite

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

bit

3  [bit]
–noun Computers.
1. Also called binary digit. a single, basic unit of information, used in connection with computers and information theory.
2. baud.
Origin:
1945–50; b(inary) + (dig)it

bit

4  [bit]
–verb
pt. and a pp. of bite.

B.I.T.

 
Bachelor of Industrial Technology.

bite

  [bahyt] verb, bit, bit⋅ten or bit, bit⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to cut, wound, or tear with the teeth: She bit the apple greedily. The lion bit his trainer.
2. to grip or hold with the teeth: Stop biting your lip!
3. to sting, as does an insect.
4. to cause to smart or sting: an icy wind that bit our faces.
5. to sever with the teeth (often fol. by off): Don't bite your nails. The child bit off a large piece of the candy bar.
6. to start to eat (often fol. by into): She bit into her steak.
7. to clamp the teeth firmly on or around (often fol. by on): He bit hard on the stick while they removed the bullet from his leg.
8. Informal.
a. to take advantage of; cheat; deceive: I got bitten in a mail-order swindle.
b. to annoy or upset; anger: What's biting you, sorehead?
9. to eat into or corrode, as does an acid.
10. to cut or pierce with, or as with, a weapon: The sword split his helmet and bit him fatally.
11. Etching. to etch with acid (a copper or other surface) in such parts as are left bare of a protective coating.
12. to take firm hold or act effectively on: We need a clamp to bite the wood while the glue dries.
13. Archaic. to make a decided impression on; affect.
–verb (used without object)
14. to press the teeth into something; attack with the jaws, bill, sting, etc.; snap: Does your parrot bite?
15. Angling. (of fish) to take bait: The fish aren't biting today.
16. to accept an offer or suggestion, esp. one intended to trick or deceive: I knew it was a mistake, but I bit anyway.
17. Informal. to admit defeat in guessing: I'll bite, who is it?
18. to act effectively; grip; hold: This wood is so dry the screws don't bite.
19. Slang. to be notably repellent, disappointing, poor, etc.; suck.
–noun
20. an act of biting.
21. a wound made by biting: a deep bite.
22. a cutting, stinging, or nipping effect: the bite of an icy wind; the bite of whiskey on the tongue.
23. a piece bitten off: Chew each bite carefully.
24. a small meal: Let's have a bite before the theater.
25. a portion severed from the whole: the government's weekly bite of my paycheck.
26. a morsel of food: not a bite to eat.
27. the occlusion of one's teeth: The dentist said I had a good bite.
28. Machinery.
a. the catch or hold that one object or one part of a mechanical apparatus has on another.
b. a surface brought into contact to obtain a hold or grip, as in a lathe chuck or similar device.
c. the amount of material that a mechanical shovel or the like can carry at one time.
29. sharpness; incisiveness; effectiveness: The bite of his story is spoiled by his slovenly style.
30. the roughness of the surface of a file.
31. Metalworking. the maximum angle, measured from the center of a roll in a rolling mill, between a perpendicular and a line to the point of contact where a given object to be rolled will enter between the rolls.
—Idioms
32. bite off more than one can chew, to attempt something that exceeds one's capacity: In trying to build a house by himself, he bit off more than he could chew.
33. bite someone's head off, to respond with anger or impatience to someone's question or comment: He'll bite your head off if you ask for anything.
34. bite the bullet. bullet (def. 7).
35. bite the dust. dust (def. 21).
36. bite the hand that feeds one, to repay kindness with malice or injury: When he berates his boss, he is biting the hand that feeds him.
37. put the bite on, Slang.
a. to solicit or attempt to borrow money or something of value from.
b. to press for money, as in extortion: They found out about his prison record and began to put the bite on him.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME biten, OE bītan; c. OHG bīzan (G beissen), Goth beitan, ON bīta; akin to L findere to split

Related forms:
bit⋅a⋅ble, bite⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. gnaw, chew, nip. 22. mouthful, morsel, taste; scrap, crumb, dab. 23. snack, nosh.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bit
bit 1   (bĭt)   
n.  
  1. A small portion, degree, or amount: a bit of lint; a bit of luck.
  2. A brief amount of time; a moment: Wait a bit.
    1. A short scene or episode in a theatrical performance.
    2. A bit part.
    3. A particular kind of action, situation, or behavior: got tired of the macho bit.
    4. A matter being considered: What's this bit about inflation?
  4. An entertainment routine given regularly by a performer; an act.
  5. Informal
    1. A particular kind of action, situation, or behavior: got tired of the macho bit.
    2. A matter being considered: What's this bit about inflation?
  6. Informal An amount equal to one eighth of a dollar: two bits.
  7. Chiefly British A small coin: a threepenny bit.

[Middle English bite, morsel, from Old English bita; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]
bit 2   (bĭt)   
n.  
  1. The sharp part of a tool, such as the cutting edge of a knife or ax.
  2. A pointed and threaded tool for drilling and boring that is secured in a brace, bitstock, or drill press.
  3. The part of a key that enters the lock and engages the bolt and tumblers.
  4. The tip of the mouthpiece on a pipe or a cigarette or cigar holder.
  5. The metal mouthpiece of a bridle, serving to control, curb, and direct an animal.
  6. Something that controls, guides, or curbs.
tr.v.   bit·ted, bit·ting, bits
  1. To place a bit in the mouth of (a horse, for example).
  2. To check or control with or as if with a bit.
  3. To make or grind a bit on (a key).

[Middle English bite, from Old English, act of biting; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]
bit 3   (bĭt)   
n.   Computer Science
A fundamental unit of information having just two possible values, as either of the binary digits 0 or 1.

[Blend of b(inary) and (dig)it.]
bit 4   (bĭt)   
v.  Past tense and a past participle of bite.
bite   (bīt)   
v.   bit (bĭt), bit·ten (bĭt'n) or bit, bit·ing, bites

v.   tr.
  1. To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth.
    1. To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.
    2. To sting with a stinger.
  3. To cut into with or as if with a sharp instrument: The ax bit the log deeply.
  4. To grip, grab, or seize: bald treads that couldn't bite the icy road; bitten by a sudden desire to travel.
  5. To eat into; corrode.
  6. To cause to sting or be painful: cold that bites the skin; a conscience bitten by remorse.
v.   intr.
  1. To grip, cut into, or injure something with or as if with the teeth.
  2. To have a stinging effect.
  3. To have a sharp taste.
  4. To take or swallow bait.
  5. To be taken in by a ploy or deception: tried to sell the Brooklyn Bridge, but no one bit.
  6. Vulgar Slang To be highly disagreeable or annoying.
n.  
  1. The act of biting.
  2. A skin wound or puncture produced by an animal's teeth or mouthparts: the bite of an insect.
    1. A stinging or smarting sensation.
    2. An incisive, penetrating quality: the bite of satire.
    3. An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful.
    4. Informal A light meal or snack.
    5. A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.
    6. The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.
  4. An amount removed by or as if by an act of biting: Rezoning took a bite out of the town's residential area.
  5. An excerpt or fragment taken from something larger, such as a film.
    1. An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful.
    2. Informal A light meal or snack.
    3. A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.
    4. The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.
  7. The act or an instance of taking bait: fished all day without a bite; an ad that got a few bites but no final sales.
    1. A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.
    2. The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.
  9. Dentistry The angle at which the upper and lower teeth meet; occlusion.
  10. The corrosive action of acid upon an etcher's metal plate.
  11. Slang An amount of money appropriated or withheld: trying to avoid the tax bite.

[Middle English biten, from Old English bītan; see bheid- in Indo-European roots.]
bit'a·ble, bite'a·ble adj., bit'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to seize and tear or grind something with the teeth: bite into a ripe apple; a horse champing at its bit; a cow chomping its hay; a dog gnawing a bone.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Bit

Bit\, n. [OE. bitt, bite, AS. bite, bite, fr. b[=i]tan to bite. See Bite, n. & v., and cf. Bit a morsel.]

1. The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which the reins are fastened. --Shak.

The foamy bridle with the bit of gold. --Chaucer.

2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.

Bit

Bit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Bitting.] To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.

Bit

Bit\, imp. & p. p. of Bite.

Bit

Bit\, n. [OE. bite, AS. bita, fr. b[=i]tan to bite; akin to D. beet, G. bissen bit, morsel, Icel. biti. See Bite, v., and cf. Bit part of a bridle.]

1. A part of anything, such as may be bitten off or taken into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of anything; a little; a mite.

2. Somewhat; something, but not very great.

My young companion was a bit of a poet. --T. Hook.

Note: This word is used, also, like jot and whit, to express the smallest degree; as, he is not a bit wiser.

3. A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock.

4. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers. --Knight.

5. The cutting iron of a plane. --Knight.

6. In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12 1/2 cents; also, the sum of 12 1/2 cents.

Bit my bit, piecemeal. --Pope.

Bit

Bit\, 3d sing. pr. of Bid, for biddeth. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Bit

Bit\, n. In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : bit
Spanish: pedacito,
German: das Stückchen,
Japanese: 小片
More Translations »

bit

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.
Cite This Source

bit

n. [from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT']
1. [techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of information obtained by asking a yes-or-no question for which the two outcomes are equally probable.
2. [techspeak] A computational quantity that can take on one of two values, such as true and false or 0 and
1.
3. A mental flag: a reminder that something should be done eventually. "I have a bit set for you." (I haven't seen you for a while, and I'm supposed to tell or ask you something.)
4. More generally, a (possibly incorrect) mental state of belief. "I have a bit set that says that you were the last guy to hack on EMACS." (Meaning "I think you were the last guy to hack on EMACS, and what I am about to say is predicated on this, so please stop me if this isn't true.")

"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating that you intend only a short interruption for a question that can presumably be answered yes or no.

A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and `reset' or `clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of setting and clearing bits. To toggle or `invert' a bit is to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also flag, trit, mode bit.

The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by early statistician and computer scientist John Tukey. Tukey records that it evolved over a lunch table as a handier alternative to `bigit' or `binit'.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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bit  (1)
related O.E. words bite "act of biting," and bita "piece bitten off," are probably the source of the modern words meaning "boring-piece of a drill" (1594), "mouthpiece of a horse's bridle" (c.1340), and "a piece bitten off, morsel" (c.1000). All from P.Gmc. *biton, from PIE base *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Meaning "small piece, fragment" is from 1606. Theatrical bit part is from 1926. Money sense in two bits, six bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in ref. to silver wedges cut or stamped from Sp. dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."

bit  (2)
computerese word, 1948 abbreviation (coined by J.W. Tukey) of binary digit, probably chosen for its identity with bit (1). Bit map first attested 1973. Byte, meaning eight bits, probably coined at IBM c.1964.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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bit unit
(b) binary digit.
The unit of information; the amount of information obtained by asking a yes-or-no question; a computational quantity that can take on one of two values, such as false and true or 0 and 1; the smallest unit of storage - sufficient to hold one bit.
A bit is said to be "set" if its value is true or 1, and "reset" or "clear" if its value is false or 0. One speaks of setting and clearing bits. To toggle or "invert" a bit is to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.
The term "bit" first appeared in print in the computer-science sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by the eminent statistician, John Tukey. Tukey records that it evolved over a lunch table as a handier alternative to "bigit" or "binit".
See also flag, trit, mode bit, byte, word.
[The Jargon File]
(2002-01-22)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Bit

the curb put into the mouths of horses to restrain them. The Hebrew word (metheg) so rendered in Ps. 32:9 is elsewhere translated "bridle" (2 Kings 19:28; Prov. 26:3; Isa. 37:29). Bits were generally made of bronze or iron, but sometimes also of gold or silver. In James 3:3 the Authorized Version translates the Greek word by "bits," but the Revised Version by "bridles."

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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bit

In addition to the idiom beginning with bit, also see 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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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bit
binary digit
BIT
built in test
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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