Bit

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: bĭt, IPA: /bɪt/, SAMPA: /bIt/

• Audio (US)

  noicon

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

Bit (plural Bits)

1. A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to reins to direct the animal.
2. A rotary cutting tool fitted to a drill, used to make holes.
3. (US) An eighth of a dollar. Note that there is no coin minted worth 12.5 cents. (When this term first came into use, the Spanish 8 reales coin was widely used as a dollar equivalent, and thus the 1 real coin was equivalent to 12.5 cents.)

   A quarter is two bits.

4. (dated, UK) A coin of a specified value. (Also used for a nine-pence coin in the British Caribbean.)

   A threepenny bit.

5. A small amount of something.

   There were bits of paper all over the floor.

   Does your leg still hurt? / Just a bit now.

6. Specifically, a small amount of time.

   I'll be there in a bit, I need to take care of something first.

   He was here just a bit ago, but it looks like he's stepped out.

7. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought): A portion of something.

   I'd like a big bit of cake, please.

8. (slang) A prison sentence.
9. An excerpt of material from a composition or show.

   His bit about video games was not nearly as entertaining as the other segments of his show.

Synonyms

• (coin): coin, piece
• (small piece): morsel (of food), piece, scrap
• (portion): portion, share, segment
• (horse equipment): snaffle, pelham, kimberwicke

Derived terms

terms derived from bit (noun)

a bit bit-banger bit by bit bit on the side bit of rough bit part bit player bits and bobs bits and pieces bitty blown to bits brace and bit

champ at the bit chomp at the bit do one's bit fall to bits itty-bitty naughty bit not a bit, not one bit quite a bit two-bit

Adverb

Bit (not comparable)

1. To a small extent; in a small amount (usually with "a").

   That's a bit too sweet.

Etymology 2

See bite

Verb

bit

1. Simple past of bite.

   Your dog bit me!

Etymology 3

Coined by John Tukey in 1946 as an abbreviation of binary digit, probably influenced by connotations of “small portion”.[1][2] First used in print 1948 by Claude Shannon . Compare byte and nybble.

Noun

Bit (plural Bits)

1. (mathematics, computing) A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.
2. (computing) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.
3. (information theory, cryptography) Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.

Synonyms

• (smallest unit of storage): b

Derived terms

terms derived from bit (noun)

bit-depth bitwise hidden bit high-order bit least significant bit most significant bit

8-bit 16-bit 32-bit 64-bit 128-bit

See also

• ban, nat, qubit