bit

Meaning

Noun

1. A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to the reins to direct the animal.
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.
3. (British, dated) Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
4. (Canada, US, historical) Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
5. (Canada, US, obsolete) Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
6. (historical) Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
7. (historical) Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
8. Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.
9. A small amount of something.
10. (informal) Specifically, a small amount of time.
11. (informal) A small fraction above a whole number.
12. (in-plural, informal) Fractions of a second.
13. A portion of something.
14. Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree. See also a bit.
15. A replaceable tip for a hand tool or power tool, comprising the portion that drives a fastener.
16. (slang) A prison sentence, especially a short one.
17. An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.
18. (slang) A gag or put-on; a humorous conceit, especially when insistently presented as true.
19. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of bit part.
20. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.
21. The cutting iron of a plane.
22. The bevelled front edge of an axehead along which the cutting edge runs.
23. A gag of a style similar to a bridle.
24. (Multicultural-London-English) A gun.

Verb

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

Verb

1. (form-of, past) simple past of bite
2. (archaic, form-of, informal, participle, past) past participle of bite, bitten

Adj

Having been bitten.

bite

• Verb
• Noun

Read more

bitten

• Verb
• Adj

Read more

Opposite of

age, while, jiffy, moment, never in a month of Sundays

Synonyms

piece

fragment

little

part

scrap

morsel

slice

lump

small amount

binary digit

crumb

bite

chip

bridle

chunk

flake

section

spot

small quantity

drill

few

🤏

portion

small piece

particle

moment

jot

grain

whit

atom

trifle

minute

iota

speck

a little

fleck

second

2nd

pinch

mo

mouthful

slightly

snatch

segment

shred

dash

💨

little bit

drop

gimlet

number

🔢

act

nip

Translations

bit

morceau

bit

Bit

pezzetto

pedazo

bocado

fragment

mors

Stück

1️⃣

peu

bit

pedaço

bit

Stückchen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bitte

Inherited from Old English: bita

Cognate with Western Frisian: bit

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Bit

Cognate with Dutch: bit

Cognate with German: Biss

Cognate with Danish: bid

Cognate with Swedish: bit

Cognate with Icelandic: biti

In summary

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.
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian bit, Saterland Frisian Bit, Dutch bit, German Low German Beet, Biet, German Biss and Bissen, Danish bid, Swedish bit, Icelandic biti.

Sentences

Yet each felt his heart beat a bit faster .

But horses tire bit by bit .

The bit between the two car parks ?

Bit is the short term for binary digit .

A packet is declared incorrect if at least one bit is erroneous .