define "Bit"

bit¹ 
 

 

^{A bit (short for binary digit) is the smallest unit of data in a computer.}

 

bit/

noun

noun: bit; plural noun: bits

1. 1.

   a small piece, part, or quantity of something.

   "give the duck a bit of bread"

   synonyms:

   piece, portion, segment, section, part; More chunk, lump, hunk, slice; fragment, scrap, shred, crumb, grain, speck; spot, drop, pinch, dash, soupçon, modicum; morsel, mouthful, bite, sample; iota, jot, tittle, whit, atom, particle, trace, touch, suggestion, hint, tinge; snippet, snatch, smidgen, tad "a bit of bread"

   antonyms:

   lot

   • a fair amount.

     noun: a bit

     "there's a bit to talk about there"
   • a short time or distance.

     noun: a bit

     "I fell asleep for a bit"

     synonyms:

     moment, minute, second, (little) while; More informalsec, jiffy, jiff "wait a bit" soon, in a (little) while, in a second, in a minute, in a moment, shortly, in no time, before you know it, before long, directly; informalin a jiffy/jiff, in two shakes, in a snap; literaryere long, anon "I'll see you in a bit"

   • informal

     a set of actions or ideas associated with a specific group or activity.

     "she's gone off to do her theatrical bit"
2. 2.

   North Americaninformaldated

   a unit of 12 1/2 cents (used only in even multiples).

   "the sideshow admission was twenty-five cents, two bits, the fourth of a dollar"

Origin

Old English bita ‘bite, mouthful,’ of Germanic origin; related to German Bissen, also to bite.

bit²

bit/

1. past of bite.

bit³

bit/

noun

noun: bit; plural noun: bits

1. 1.

   a mouthpiece, typically made of metal, that is attached to a bridle and used to control a horse.
2. 2.

   a tool or piece for boring or drilling, typically of metal.

   "a drill bit"

   • the cutting or gripping part of a plane, pliers, or other tool.
   • the part of a key that engages with the lock lever.
   • the copper head of a soldering iron.

verb

verb: bit; 3rd person present: bits; past tense: bitted; past participle: bitted; gerund or present participle: bitting

1. 1.

   put a bit into the mouth of (a horse).

   • figurative

     restrain.

     "my own hysteria was bitted by upbringing and respect"

Origin

Old English bite ‘biting, a bite,’ of Germanic origin; related to Dutch beet and German Biss, also to bite.

bit⁴

bit/

noun

Computing

noun: bit; plural noun: bits

1. a unit of information expressed as either a 0 or 1 in binary notation.

Origin

1940s: blend of binary and digit.

bite

bīt/

verb

past tense: bit

1. 1.

   (of a person or animal) use the teeth to cut into something in order to eat it.

   "Rosa bit into a cupcake"

   synonyms:

   sink one's teeth into, chew, munch, crunch, chomp, tear at, snap at "the dog bit his arm"

   • (of an animal or a person) use the teeth in order to inflict injury on.

     "she had bitten, scratched, and kicked her assailant"
   • (of a snake, insect, or spider) wound with fangs, pincers, or a sting.

     "she was bitten by an adder"
   • (of an animal) snap at; attempt to bite.

     "it is not unusual for this dog to bite at its owner's hand"
   • (of an acid) corrode a surface.

     "chemicals have bitten deep into the stone"

     synonyms:

     corrode, eat into, eat away at, burn (into), etch, dissolve "the acid bites into the copper"

   • (of a fish) take the bait or lure on the end of a fishing line into the mouth.
   • (of a person) be persuaded to accept a deal or offer.

     "a hundred or so retailers should bite"

     synonyms:

     accept, agree, respond; More be lured, be enticed, be tempted; take the bait "a hundred or so retailers should bite"

2. 2.

   (of a tool, tire, boot, etc.) grip a surface.

   "once on the wet grass, my boots failed to bite"

   • (of an object) press into a part of the body, causing pain.

     "the handcuffs bit into his wrists"
   • cause emotional pain.

     "Cheryl's betrayal had bitten deep"
   • (of a policy or situation) take effect, with unpleasant consequences.

     "when the cuts in art education start to bite"
   • North Americaninformal

     be very bad, unpleasant, or unfortunate.

     "it bites that your mom won't let you go"

Origin

Old English bītan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bijten and German beissen .

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What is bit (binary digit)? - Definition from WhatIs.com

whatis.techtarget.com › Topics › Data Center › Hardware

A bit (short for binary digit) is the smallest unit of data in a computer. A bit has a single binary value, either 0 or 1. Although computers usually provide instructions that can test and manipulate bits, they generally are designed to store data and execute instructions in bit multiples called bytes

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Definition

bit (binary digit)

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

WhatIs.com

A bit (short for binary digit) is the smallest unit of data in a computer. A bit has a single binary value, either 0 or 1. Although computers usually provide instructions that can test and manipulate bits, they generally are designed to store data and execute instructions in bit multiples called bytes. In most computer systems, there are eight bits in a byte. The value of a bit is usually stored as either above or below a designated level of electrical charge in a single capacitor within a memory device.

Half a byte (four bits) is called a nibble. In some systems, the term octet is used for an eight-bit unit instead of byte. In many systems, four eight-bit bytes or octets form a 32-bit word. In such systems, instruction lengths are sometimes expressed as full-word (32 bits in length) or half-word (16 bits in length).
In telecommunication, the bit rate is the number of bits that are transmitted in a given time period, usually a second.

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