What is "bit"

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

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 \Bit\ (b[i^]t), 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\ (Computers) [binary digit.]

1. the smallest unit of information, equivalent to a choice between two alternatives, as yes or no; on or off.

2. (Computers) the physical representation of a bit of information in a computer memory or a data storage medium. Within a computer circuit a bit may be represented by the state of a current or an electrical charge; in a magnetic storage medium it may be represented by the direction of magnetization; on a punched card or on paper tape it may be represented by the presence or absence of a hole at a particular point on the card or tape.

   Bit my bit, piecemeal.
   --Pope.

Bit \Bit\, n. In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.

Bite \Bite\ (b[imac]t), v. t. [imp. Bit (b[i^]t); p. p. Bitten (b[i^]t"t'n), Bit; p. pr. & vb. n. Biting.] [OE. biten, AS. b[=i]tan; akin to D. bijten, OS. b[=i]tan, OHG. b[=i]zan, G. beissen, Goth. beitan, Icel. b[=i]ta, Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave.

1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.

   Such smiling rogues as these, Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain.
   --Shak.

2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food.

3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth. ``Frosts do bite the meads.''
   --Shak.

4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.]
   --Pope.

5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground.

   The last screw of the rack having been turned so often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned and turned with nothing to bite.
   --Dickens.

   To bite the dust, To bite the ground, to fall in the agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust.

   To bite in (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid.

   To bite the thumb at (any one), formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. ``Do you bite your thumb at us?''
   --Shak.

   To bite the tongue, to keep silence.
   --Shak.

computerese word, 1948 abbreviation coined by U.S. computer pioneer John W. Tukey (1915-2000) of binary digit, probably chosen for its identity with bit (n.1).

past tense of bite.

"small piece," c.1200; related Old English bite "act of biting," and bita "piece bitten off," probably are the source of the modern words meaning "boring-piece of a drill" (1590s), "mouthpiece of a horse's bridle" (mid-14c.), and "a piece bitten off, morsel" (c.1000). All from Proto-Germanic *biton (cognates: Old Saxon biti, Old Norse bit, Old Frisian bite, Middle Dutch bete, Old High German bizzo "biting," German Bissen "a bite, morsel"), from PIE root *bheid- "to split" (see fissure).\n

\nMeaning "small piece, fragment" is from c.1600. Sense of "short space of time" is 1650s. Theatrical bit part is from 1909. Money sense in two bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in reference to silver wedges cut or stamped from Spanish dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."

Etymology 1 adv. To a small extent; in a small amount (usually with "a"). n. 1 (senseid en metal in horse's mouth) 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 bore holes. 3 (context dated British English) A coin of a specified value. (Also formerly used for a nine-pence coin in the British Caribbean, and a fourpenny piece, or groat, in the British West Indies.) 4 (context US English) 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.) 5 (context historical US English) In the southern and southwestern states, a small silver coin (such as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12½ cents; also, the sum of 12½ cents. 6 A small amount of something. vb. (context transitive English) To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse). Etymology 2

1. 1 (label en colloquial) bitten. 2 (label en only in combination) Having been bitten. v

2. 1 (en-simple past of: bite) 2 (context informal in US archaic in UK English) (past participle of bite English), bitten Etymology 3

   n. 1 (context mathematics computing English) A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0. 2 (context computing English) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit. 3 (context information theory cryptography English) Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values. 4 (context information theory English) A unit of measure for information entropy.

1. v. to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws; "Gunny invariably tried to bite her" [syn: seize with teeth]

2. cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort; "The sun burned his face" [syn: sting, burn]

3. penetrate or cut, as with a knife; "The fork bit into the surface"

4. deliver a sting to; "A bee stung my arm yesterday" [syn: sting, prick]

5. [also: bitten, bit]

1. n. a wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person

2. a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; "all they had left was a bit of bread" [syn: morsel, bit]

3. a painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin [syn: sting, insect bite]

4. a light informal meal [syn: collation, snack]

5. (angling) an instance of a fish taking the bait; "after fishing for an hour he still had not had a bite"

6. wit having a sharp and caustic quality; "he commented with typical pungency"; "the bite of satire" [syn: pungency]

7. a strong odor or taste property; "the pungency of mustard"; "the sulfurous bite of garlic"; "the sharpness of strange spices" [syn: pungency, sharpness]

8. the act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws [syn: chomp]

9. a portion removed from the whole; "the government's weekly bite from my paycheck"

10. [also: bitten, bit]

1. n. a small quantity; "a spot of tea"; "a bit of paper" [syn: spot]

2. a small fragment of something broken off from the whole; "a bit of rock caught him in the eye" [syn: chip, flake, fleck, scrap]

3. an indefinitely short time; "wait just a moment"; "it only takes a minute"; "in just a bit" [syn: moment, minute, second]

4. an instance of some kind; "it was a nice piece of work"; "he had a bit of good luck" [syn: piece]

5. piece of metal held in horse's mouth by reins and used to control the horse while riding; "the horse was not accustomed to a bit"

6. a unit of measurement of information (from Binary + digIT); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states; "there are 8 bits in a byte"

7. a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; "all they had left was a bit of bread" [syn: morsel, bite]

8. a small fragment; "overheard snatches of their conversation" [syn: snatch]

9. a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program; "he did his act three times every evening"; "she had a catchy little routine"; "it was one of the best numbers he ever did" [syn: act, routine, number, turn]

10. the cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press; "he looked around for the right size bit"

11. [also: bitting, bitted]

1. See bite

2. [also: bitting, bitted]

The bit is a basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. A bit can have only one of two values, and may therefore be physically implemented with a two-state device. These values are most commonly represented as either a . The term bit is a portmanteau of binary digit. In information theory, the bit is equivalent to the unit shannon, named after Claude Shannon.

The two values can also be interpreted as logical values (true/false, yes/no), algebraic signs (+/−), activation states (on/off), or any other two-valued attribute. The correspondence between these values and the physical states of the underlying storage or device is a matter of convention, and different assignments may be used even within the same device or program. The length of a binary number may be referred to as its bit-length.

In information theory, one bit is typically defined as the uncertainty of a binary random variable that is 0 or 1 with equal probability, or the information that is gained when the value of such a variable becomes known.

In quantum computing, a quantum bit or qubit is a quantum system that can exist in superposition of two classical (i.e., non-quantum) bit values.

The symbol for bit, as a unit of information, is either simply bit (recommended by the IEC 80000-13:2008 standard) or lowercase b (recommended by the IEEE 1541-2002 standard). A group of eight bits is commonly called one byte, but historically the size of the byte is not strictly defined.

A bit is a unit of information storage on a computer.

Bit or BIT may also refer to:

The word bit is a colloquial expression referring to specific coins in various coinages throughout the world.

BIT was an information service, publisher, travel guide and social centre founded, in 1968, by John "Hoppy" Hopkins. It pre-dated the internet as a free service that would try to find any information asked for and derived its name from the smallest unit of computer information.

A bit is a type of horse tack used in equestrian activities, usually made of metal or a synthetic material, and is placed in the mouth of a horse or other equid and assists a rider in communicating with the animal. It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth. It is held on a horse's head by means of a bridle and has reins attached for use by a rider.

The bit of a key is the part that actually engages the locking mechanism of a lock. (For example the tumblers in a pin tumbler lock.)

The exact geometry of modern keys is usually described by a code system. This is referred to as the bitting. The bitting instructs a locksmith how to cut a certain key, to replace a lost key or make an additional copy.

The bitting is usually a series of integers (e.g. 372164) that is usually translated from a key code chart or from a bitting code list to settings on specially designed key machines. In many code systems each digit in the bitting corresponds to a certain location on the key blank where a cut or notch is to be made and also indicates the necessary depth of the cut.

Many lock companies use their own proprietary code system. Depending on the maker, the bitting sequence can be from bow-to-tip (the bow being the larger, handle portion of the key), or can be from tip-to-bow. A smaller number is typically a shallower cut on the key, but not always. Assa bitting codes are reversed, where the higher the digit, the shallower the cut. One American manufacturer, Eagle Lock Company, used letters exclusively for bitting codes.