bit

noun

1. 1

   A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to the reins to direct the animal.

   A horse hates having a bit put in its mouth.

2. 2

   A rotary cutting tool, fitted to a drill, brace, or router, used to bore or drill holes or to remove material from the profile of the workpiece.

   router bit

   chamfering bit

3. 3

   datedApplied to a various small units of currency and coins. A coin of a specified value.

   a threepenny bit

4. 4

   historicalApplied to a various small units of currency and coins. A unit of currency worth one eighth of a dollar, originally of a Spanish dollar but later also US or Canadian; also, a coin with this value, in particular the silver Spanish real.

   A quarter is two bits.

   He left after shaking her down for four bits for carrying the bags.

5. 5

   obsoleteApplied to a various small units of currency and coins. A coin of a value similar but not equal to this, in particular the ‘short bit’, i.e. the ten-cent piece or dime.

   The smallest coin we had in Canada in early days was a dime, worth ten cents. The Indians called this coin “a Bit”. Our next coin, double in buying power and in size, was a twenty-five cent piece and this the Indians called “Two Bits”.

6. 6

   historicalApplied to a various small units of currency and coins. A unit of currency and coin of the British West Indies worth six black dogs, originally equal to one-eighth of a Spanish dollar but later increasingly debased to one tenth, one eleventh, one twelfth, etc.

   I trusted to the Lord to be with me; and at one of our trips to St. Eustatia, a Dutch island, I bought a glass tumbler with my half bit, and when I came to Montserrat I sold it for a bit, or sixpence.

7. 7

   historicalApplied to a various small units of currency and coins. A unit of currency of the Dutch West Indies in the early 20th century, worth one fifth of a cent.

8. 8

   Applied to a various small units of currency and coins. Synonym of microbitcoin.

9. 9

   A small amount of something.

   There were bits of paper all over the floor.

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

   I've done my bit; I expect you to do yours.

   ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’

10. 10

    informalSpecifically, 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.

11. 11

    informalA small fraction above a whole number.

    The movie lasted for two and a bit hours.

12. 12

    informalFractions of a second.

    The 400 metres race was won in 47 seconds and bits.

13. 13

    A portion of something.

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

    Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.

14. 14

    Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree. See also a bit.

    Am I bored? Not a bit of it!

    My young companion was a bit of a poet.

15. 15

    A replaceable tip for a hand tool or power tool, comprising the portion that drives a fastener.

    Near-synonym: driver

    driver bit

16. 16

    slangA prison sentence, especially a short one.

    Had it not been for the influence of Mrs. Booth and Hope Hall I should still be grafting or doing a bit in some stir

    Before doing that I am going to tell you what was the result of my own incarceration, because I presume it may not be a secret to you, that I have done a "bit" myself, not the "bit" which the prosecuting attorney was so anxious to have me do.

    Chino didn't make me think of Dachau or that notorious joint in Angola, Louisiana, where a brother who had done a bit there told me how they used to cut the grass on the front lawn with their fingernails.

    Not counting the days—that's okay for a county-time slap, but it'll make you crazy if you've got years to go on a felony bit.

17. 17

    An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.

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

18. 18

    slangA gag or put-on; a humorous conceit, especially when insistently presented as true.

    Are you serious, or is this a bit?

    Also, I'm bi. I like dudes! ...That's weird to say. Everything I say feels like a bit now, god dammit.

19. 19

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

20. 20

    The cutting iron of a plane.

21. 21

    The bevelled front edge of an axehead along which the cutting edge runs.

22. 22

    A gag of a style similar to a bridle.

23. 23

    A gun.

    Jimmy: I need to get my hands on some bits. If you’re still in the business. Ronnie (played by Nick Nevern): Oi! Trojan (played by Jean-Paul Van Cauwelaert): Ronnie. […] Trojan: Now that is a SIG Sauer P226.

24. 24

    Variant of bit partEllipsis of bit part.

    She acted her bit in the opening scene.

verb

1. 1

   To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse).

verb

1. 1

   Also a form of bitesimple past of bite

   Your dog bit me!

2. 2

   Also a form of bitearchaicpast participle of bite, bitten

   I've been bit by your dog!

adjective

1. 1

   Having been bitten.

   Even though he's bit, of course the zombies would still chase him.

   Fortunately, someone who gets skeeter-bit this much may develop an immunity to the skeeter's saliva

   Only the year before, the conjure man had brought in the Jackson County madstone, from way over in Illinois, for a white peddler that had been dog-bit, and the man went ahead and died just the same

   He will not — he'll tell you not to be loco, climbing up trees late at night when you'll get bug-bit to death plus you can't see anything

noun

1. 1

   A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.

2. 2

   The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.

3. 3

   Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.

   status bits on IRC

   permission bits in a file system

4. 4

   A unit of measure for information entropy.

5. 5

   A microbitcoin, or a millionth of a bitcoin (0.000001 BTC).

Forms

plural

bits

past tense

bitted

past participle

bitted

present participle

bitting

third person singular

bits