bit

bit

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of bit in English

English Online Dictionary. What means bit‎? What does bit mean?

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: bĭt, IPA(key): /bɪt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

Etymology 1

From Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita (“bit; fragment; morsel”) and bite (“a bite; cut”), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz; both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). More at bite.

Noun

bit (plural bits)

  2. A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to the reins to direct the animal.
    Synonyms: kimberwicke, pelham, snaffle
  3. A rotary cutting tool fitted to a drill, used to bore holes.
  4. Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
    Synonyms: coin, piece
    1. (dated, British) A coin of a specified value.
    3. (historical, US and Canada) 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.
    4. (obsolete, US and Canada) A coin of a value similar but not equal to this, in particular the ‘short bit’, i.e. the ten-cent piece or dime.
    5. (historical) 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.
    6. (historical) A unit of currency of the Dutch West Indies in the early 20th century, worth one fifth of a cent.
  5. A small amount of something.
    Synonyms: (of food) morsel, piece, scrap; see also Thesaurus:modicum
  6. (informal) Specifically, a small amount of time.
    Synonyms: instant, jiffy, tick; see also Thesaurus:moment
    Antonyms: age, (US) while; see also Thesaurus:eon
  7. (informal) A small fraction above a whole number.
  8. (in the plural, informal, sports) Fractions of a second.
    Synonym: split-second
  9. A portion of something.
    Synonyms: portion, share, segment; see also Thesaurus:piece
  10. Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree. See also a bit.
    • 1835', Theodore Hook, Gilbert Gurney
      My young companion was a bit of a poet.
  11. (slang) A prison sentence, especially a short one.
    Synonym: bid
  12. An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.
  13. (slang) A gag or put-on; a humorous conceit, especially when insistently presented as true.
    Synonyms: shaggy dog story, wind up; see also Thesaurus:joke
  14. Short for bit part.
  16. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.
  17. The cutting iron of a plane.
  18. The bevelled front edge of an axehead along which the cutting edge runs.
  19. (BDSM) A gag of a style similar to a bridle.
  20. (MLE) A gun.
    Synonyms: (MLE) skeng, toy, wap; see also Thesaurus:firearm
Derived terms
Related terms
  • bits (“genitals”)
Translations

Verb

bit (third-person singular simple present bits, present participle bitting, simple past and past participle bitted)

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

References

Etymology 2

See bite

Verb

bit

  1. simple past of bite
  2. (informal in US, archaic in UK) past participle of bite, bitten

Adjective

bit (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly in combination) Having been bitten.
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Coined by John Tukey in 1946 as an abbreviation of binary digit, probably influenced by connotations of “small portion”. First used in print 1948 by Claude Shannon. Compare byte and nybble, with similar food associations.

Noun

bit (plural bits)

  2. (mathematics, computing) A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.
  4. (computing) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.
    Synonym: b
  6. (information theory, cryptography) Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.
  7. (information theory) A unit of measure for information entropy.
  8. A microbitcoin, or a millionth of a bitcoin (0.000001 BTC).
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations
See also
  • ban, nat, qubit

References

Anagrams

  • Bti, ITB, TBI, TiB, tib

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït (“louse”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bit]

Noun

bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitlər)

  1. louse

Declension

Catalan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbit]
  • Rhymes: -it

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. (computing) bit

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɪt]
  • Rhymes: -ɪt
  • Homophone: byt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English bit, from binary digit.

Noun

bit m inan

  1. (computing) bit
Declension
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

bit

  1. masculine singular passive participle of bít

Further reading

  • “bit”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
  • “bit”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • bit in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪt/
  • Hyphenation: bit
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

Etymology 1

Ablaut of bijten.

Noun

bit n (plural bitten, diminutive bitje n)

  1. bit (for a working animal)
  2. bit (rotary cutting tool)
  3. mouthguard

Etymology 2

From English bit.

Noun

bit m (plural bits, diminutive bitje n)

  1. bit (binary digit)
  2. bit (unit of storage)
  3. bit (datum with two possible values)

French

Etymology

From English.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bit/

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. (computing) bit

Derived terms

  • bit le moins significatif
  • bit le plus significatif

Further reading

  • “bit”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Hungarian

Etymology

From English bit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbit]
  • Hyphenation: bit
  • Rhymes: -it

Noun

bit (plural bitek)

  1. (computing) bit (binary digit)

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

  • bit in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Indonesian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɪt]
  • Hyphenation: bit

Etymology 1

From English bit (“binary digit”).

Noun

bit

  1. (computing) bit, smallest unit of storage.

Etymology 2

From Dutch biet, from Middle Dutch bete, from Latin bēta.

Noun

bit

  1. Beta vulgaris, common beet, beetroot, sugar beet, and chard.

Further reading

  • “bit” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English bit, from binary digit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/
  • Rhymes: -it
  • Hyphenation: bìt

Noun

bit m (invariable)

  1. (computing) bit, smallest unit of storage.

References

Karaim

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït.

Noun

bit

  1. louse

References

  • N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “bit”, in Karaimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva, →ISBN

Khalaj

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït (“louse”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bɪt], [bi(ˑ)t], [biːt]
  • (Xarrâbî) IPA(key): [bɪt], [bit]

Noun

bit (definite accusative bitü, plural bitlər)

  1. louse

Declension

References

  • Doerfer, Gerhard (1980) Wörterbuch des Chaladsch (Dialekt von Charrab) [Khalaj dictionary] (in German), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
  • Doerfer, Gerhard (1988) Grammatik des Chaladsch [Grammar of Khalaj] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, →ISBN, →OCLC

Lashi

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bit/

Noun

bit

  1. sun

References

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎[8], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʲit/

Verb

bit

  1. supine of biś

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English beat.

Verb

bit

  1. beat

North Frisian

Alternative forms

  • bitj (Föhr-Amrum)
  • bite (Mooring)

Etymology

From Old Frisian bīta.

Verb

bit

  1. (Sylt) to bite

Conjugation

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse biti.

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural biter, definite plural bitene)

  1. a bit, piece (of something)
  2. a bite, mouthful (of food)
Derived terms
  • isbit
  • smakebit

Etymology 2

From English bit (“binary digit”).

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bit or biter, definite plural bitene)

  1. a bit (binary digit)

References

  • “bit” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

  • bætta (piece, dialectal)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bitar, definite plural bitane)

  1. a bit, piece (of something)
Derived terms
  • hugbit
  • isbit
  • smakebit

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bit (“binary digit”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪtː/

Noun

bit m (definite singular biten, indefinite plural bit or bitar, definit plural bitane)

  1. a bit (binary digit)

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Norse bit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Noun

bit n (definite singular bitet, indefinite plural bit, definite plural bita)

  1. a bite (e.g. insect bite, dog bite)
  2. a bite, mouthful (of food)

Etymology 4

From the first person singular present indicative of Old Norse bíta, and from the second person singular imperative Old Norse bíta.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/

Verb

bit

  1. inflection of bite:
    1. present
    2. imperative

References

  • “bit” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbiː.ten.ne/

Verb

bīt

  1. imperative singular of bītan

Old Irish

Verb

bit

  1. third-person plural future of is

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/
  • Rhymes: -it
  • Syllabification: bit
  • Homophones: bid, Bid

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English bit.

Noun

bit m inan (related adjective bitowy)

  1. (mathematics, computing) bit (binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0)
    bit informacji ― a bit of information
    bit po bicie ― bit by bit
Declension
Related terms

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English beat.

Alternative forms

  • beat

Noun

bit m inan

  1. beat (instrumental portion of a piece of hip-hop music)
  2. (music) beat (rhythm signalled by a conductor or other musician to the members of a group of musicians)
Declension

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English drill bit.

Noun

bit m inan

  1. drill bit
Declension

Etymology 4

Borrowed from English big beat.

Alternative forms

  • beat

Noun

bit m inan

  1. big beat (form of pop music having distorted breakbeats at a moderate tempo)
    Synonym: big-beat
    polski bit ― Polish big beat
Declension

Further reading

  • bit in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • bit in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English bit.

Pronunciation

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. (mathematics, computing) bit (binary digit)

Synonyms

  • Abbreviations: b

Coordinate terms

  • Multiples: kilobit, megabit, gigabit, terabit, petabit, exabit, zettabit, yottabit

Related terms

  • byte (unit equivalent to 8 bits)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English bit or French bit.

Noun

bit m (plural biți)

  1. (computing) bit

Declension

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

Related to German bis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪt/
  • Hyphenation: bit
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

Conjunction

bit

  1. until

Preposition

bit

  1. until, to

Derived terms

References

  • Marron C. Fort (2015) “bit”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Scots

Adjective

bit

  1. Little.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

From bȉti (“to be”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bîːt/

Noun

bȋt f (Cyrillic spelling би̑т)

  1. essence
  2. point, meaning
Declension

Further reading

  • “bit”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Etymology 2

From English bit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bît/

Noun

bȉt m (Cyrillic spelling би̏т)

  1. (computing) bit
Declension

Further reading

  • “bit”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Slavomolisano

Etymology

From Serbo-Croatian biti, from Proto-Slavic *byti, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *bū́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-.

Verb

bit pf or impf

  1. to be

References

  • Walter Breu and Giovanni Piccoli (2000), Dizionario croato molisano di Acquaviva Collecroce: Dizionario plurilingue della lingua slava della minoranza di provenienza dalmata di Acquaviva Collecroce in Provincia di Campobasso (Parte grammaticale)., pp. 409–412

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/ [ˈbit̪]
  • Rhymes: -it
  • Syllabification: bit

Noun

bit m (plural bits)

  1. bit (binary digit)

Further reading

  • “bit”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse biti.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/
  • Rhymes: -iːt

Noun

bit c

  1. a piece (forming a part of some whole)
    1. a bit
  2. a bit (certain (not insignificant) distance)
    1. way, ways, distance (when more idiomatic)
    2. (figuratively) a bit (of time)
  3. a tune, a piece (song)
    Synonyms: låt, sång
Usage notes

Del (“part”) is often more idiomatic when piece is interchangeable with part.

Declension
Derived terms
  • bitsocker (“sugar in the form of sugar cubes, lump sugar”)
  • i bitar
  • pusselbit (“puzzle piece”)
  • sockerbit (“sugar cube”)
See also
  • del (“part”)
  • stycke (piece that is a fragment of something in some sense – compare stycka)

Etymology 2

From English bit, from binary digit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɪt/
  • Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

bit c

  1. (computing) a bit
Declension

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biːt/
  • Rhymes: -iːt

Verb

bit

  1. imperative of bita

References

  • bit in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • bit in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • bit in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbit/

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish بیت, بت, from Proto-Turkic *bït (“louse”).

Noun

bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitler)

  1. (zoology) louse
  2. Ellipsis of bitpazarı (“flea market”).
Declension
Derived terms
  • bit yeniği (fishy)
  • bitli (lousy)
See also
  • pire (flea)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bit, abbreviation of binary digit.

Noun

bit (definite accusative biti, plural bitler)

  1. (computing) bit
Declension

Etymology 3

Verb

bit

  1. second-person singular imperative of bitmek

Turkmen

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *bït (“louse”). Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] (bit), Turkish bit (“louse”), etc.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bit̪/

Noun

bit (definite accusative bidi, plural bitler)

  1. (zoology) louse

Declension

Further reading

  • “bit” in Enedilim.com

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓit̚˧˧]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓit̚˧˧]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [ʔɓɨt̚˧˧]

Noun

bit

  1. (computing) bit

Zhuang

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /pit˥/
  • Tone numbers: bit7
  • Hyphenation: bit

Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *pitᴰ (“duck”). Cognate with Thai เป็ด (bpèt), Lao ເປັດ (pet), Lü ᦵᦔᧆ (ṗed), Tai Dam ꪹꪜꪸꪒ, Shan ပဵတ်း (páet), Ahom 𑜆𑜢𑜄𑜫 (pit), Bouyei bidt, Saek ปิ๊ด. Compare Old Chinese 鴄 (OC *pʰid).

Noun

bit (classifier duz, Sawndip forms 鴓 or 𱈶 or ⿰品鳥, 1957–1982 spelling bit)

  1. duck
Derived terms
  • roegbit

Etymology 2

From Chinese 筆 (MC pit).

Noun

bit (classifier gaiq, Sawndip forms 𣭈 or 𰚎, 1957–1982 spelling bit)

  1. pen; pencil; writing implement

Classifier

bit (1957–1982 spelling bit)

  1. Classifier for sums of money and deals.

Etymology 3

From Chinese 匹 (MC phjit).

Classifier

bit (1957–1982 spelling bit)

  1. Classifier for cloth: bolt of

Bookmark
share
WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

Related Words

rabbit

prohibited

orbit

obituaries

habits

Browse the English Dictionary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

License

This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.