a removable drilling or boring tool for use in a brace, drill press, or the like.
a removable boring head used on certain kinds of drills, as a rock drill.
a device for drilling oil wells or the like, consisting of a horizontally rotating blade or an assembly of rotating toothed wheels.
the mouthpiece of a bridle, having fittings at each end to which the reins are fastened.
anything that curbs or restrains.
the blade or iron of a carpenter's plane.
the cutting part of an ax or hatchet.
the wide portion at the end of an ordinary key that moves the bolt.
verb (used with object),bit·ted,bit·ting.
to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse).
to curb or restrain with, or as with, a bit.
to grind a bit on (a key).
Idioms for bit
take the bit in / between one's teeth, to cast off control; willfully go one's own way: He took the bit in his teeth and acted against his parents' wishes.
Origin of bit
1
before 900; Middle English bite,Old English: action of biting; cognate with German Biss,Old Norse bit.See bite
OTHER WORDS FROM bit
bitless,adjective
Words nearby bit
bisulphide, bisulphite, Bisutun, bi-swing, bisymmetric, bit, bitartrate, bit between one's teeth, bitbrace, bit by bit, bitch
Definition for bit (2 of 5)
bit2
[ bit ]
/ bɪt /
noun
a small piece or quantity of anything: a bit of string.
a short time: Wait a bit.
Informal. an amount equivalent to 12½ U.S. cents (used only in even multiples): two bits; six bits.
an act, performance, or routine: She's doing the Camille bit, pretending to be near collapse.
a stereotypic or habitual set of behaviors, attitudes, or styles associated with an individual, role, situation, etc.: the whole Wall Street bit.
Also called bit part. a very small role, as in a play or motion picture, containing few or no lines.Compare walk-on (def. 1).
any small coin: a threepenny bit.
a Spanish or Mexican silver real worth 12½ cents, formerly current in parts of the U.S.
Origin of bit
2
before 1000; Middle English bite,Old English bita bit, morsel; cognate with German Bissen,Old Norse biti.See bite
She is juggling a lot and is plowing through, but wants to take care of herself naturally and sometimes a bit indulgently.
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Elsewhere, the software feels a bit zippier than on the Series 5, thanks to Apple’s improved S6 processor chip.
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At the time of the 1790 census, Virginia had a bit less than 13 times the population of Delaware.
America needs a democratic revolution|Matthew Yglesias|September 17, 2020|Vox
In a bit of foreshadowing, he repeated that opinion in November.
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Even the hot Jewish women I mentioned above did something a bit more “intellectual” than pageantry: acting.
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His peers remember him as a bright man who spoke softly and occasionally came across as a bit shy.
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She narrowed her eyes, bit her lip as if to chew over the question, and whisked some stray blond hairs away from her face.
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It reminded me a bit of an alternative take on The Wolf of Wall Street—through the Toni and Candace lens.
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Never could he look to the old gentleman for a friendly word, or a bit of help over a hard financial place again.
The Corner House Girls Growing Up|Grace Brooks Hill
For the first time in days Ryanne's laughter had a bit of the erstwhile rollicking tone.
The Carpet from Bagdad|Harold MacGrath
She thought Alice a bit of a sneak, an opinion her brothers shared, and Gwen rather a snatch at meals.
Ann Veronica|H. G. Wells
She tried again now, bemused, and once more gave it up, although somehow this time she did feel a bit nearer success.
The Trial of Callista Blake|Edgar Pangborn
"I reckon that I've been a bit thick-haided," he said simply.
The Song of the Wolf|Frank Mayer
British Dictionary definitions for bit (1 of 4)
bit1
/ (bɪt) /
noun
a small piece, portion, or quantity
a short time or distance
US and Canadianinformalthe value of an eighth of a dollar: spoken of only in units of twotwo bits
any small coin
short for bit part
informalway of behaving, esp one intended to create a particular impressionshe's doing the prima donna bit
a bitrather; somewhata bit dreary
a bit of
rathera bit of a dope
a considerable amountthat must take quite a bit of courage
a bit of all right, a bit of crumpet, a bit of stuffora bit of tailBritishslanga sexually attractive woman
bit by bitgradually
bit on the sideinformalan extramarital affair
do one's bitto make one's expected contribution
every bit(foll by as)to the same degreeshe was every bit as clever as her brother
not a bitornot a bit of itnot in the slightest; not at all
to bitscompletely apartto fall to bits
Word Origin for bit
Old English bite action of biting; see bite
British Dictionary definitions for bit (2 of 4)
bit2
/ (bɪt) /
noun
a metal mouthpiece, for controlling a horse on a bridle
anything that restrains or curbs
take the bit in one's teeth, take the bit between one's teeth, have the bit in one's teethorhave the bit between one's teeth
to undertake a task with determination
to rebel against control
a cutting or drilling tool, part, or head in a brace, drill, etc
the blade of a woodworking plane
the part of a pair of pincers designed to grasp an object
the copper end of a soldering iron
the part of a key that engages the levers of a lock
verbbits, bittingorbitted(tr)
to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse)
to restrain; curb
Word Origin for bit
Old English bita; related to Old English bītan to bite
British Dictionary definitions for bit (3 of 4)
bit3
/ (bɪt) /
verb
the past tense and (archaic) past participle of bite
British Dictionary definitions for bit (4 of 4)
bit4
/ (bɪt) /
nounmathscomputing
a single digit of binary notation, represented either by 0 or by 1
the smallest unit of information, indicating the presence or absence of a single feature
a unit of capacity of a computer, consisting of an element of its physical structure capable of being in either of two states, such as a switch with on and off positions, or a microscopic magnet capable of alignment in two directions
The smallest unit of information. One bit corresponds to a “yes” or “no.” Some examples of a bit of information: whether a light is on or off, whether a switch (like a transistor) is on or off, whether a grain of magnetized iron points up or down.
notes for bit
The information in a digital computer is stored in the form of bits.
The smallest unit of computer memory. A bit holds one of two possible values, either of the binary digits 0 or 1. The term comes from the phrase binary digit. See Note at byte.