16 bit

16 bit

(architecture, programming)Using words containing sixteenbits. This adjective often refers to the number of bitsused internally by a computer's CPU. E.g. "The Intel 8086is a sixteen bit processor". Its external data bus oraddress bus may be narrower. The term may also refer to thesize of an instruction in the computer's instruction set orto any other item of data.

See also 16-bit application.