| 释义 |
bit
I. \ˈbit, usu -d.+V\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English bitt, from Old English bite; akin to Old English bītan to bite — more at bite
1. obsolete : the action of biting; also : grazing, eating
2. : something that is bitten or held with the teeth:
a. obsolete : bite II 5
b. : the part of a usually steel bridle that is inserted in the mouth of a horse together with its appendages (as the rings to which the reins are fastened) — see bar 1e(3), bridoon, curb, snaffle, bridle illustration
c. : the rimmed mouth end on the stem of a pipe or a cigar or cigarette holder
< a fishtail bit >
3.
a. : the biting or cutting edge or part of a tool (as of an ax, adz, or rock drill); also : a replaceable part of a compound tool that actually performs the function (usually some form of cutting) for which the whole tool is designed (as a screwdriver blade or boring tool for use with a brace, an inserted saw tooth, a plane iron, or the copper head of a soldering iron)
b. bits plural : the jaws or nippers of tongs or pincers
4. : something that curbs or imposes a restraint on something or someone
< folly curbed by honor's bit >
5. : the part of a key which enters the lock and in which are cut the wards that act upon the bolt and tumblers
6. : a triangular earmark (as for identifying cattle) — see earmark illustration
7. : a piece of wire or brass fixed to a dandy roll to make a watermark in paper
•
- bit in one's teeth
II. transitive verb
(bitted ; bitted ; bitting ; bits)
1.
a. : to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse)
b. : to accustom (a horse) to the bit
c. : to control with or as if with a bit : curb, check
2. : to form a bit on (a key)
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bita; akin to Old English bītan to bite — more at bite
1. : a small quantity of food:
a. obsolete : a piece of food such as may be bitten off at once : bite
b. : morsel; especially : a small delicacy
c. : fragment of food : scrap, leaving — usually used in plural
< we can make supper from the bits >
2. : a small piece, portion, or quantity of some material thing: as
a.
(1) chiefly Scotland : place, spot
< may I never stir from the bit — Sir Walter Scott >
(2) of land or lands : a small or relatively small amount
< planting the level bits to grain and terracing the hills for their vineyards >
< a bit of the old country set down in the midst of this American state >
b.
(1) : an old one-real piece worth 1/8 of a Spanish peso
(2) : a unit of value equivalent to 1/8 of a Spanish peso — used especially in designating the value of a piece of cut money
< each piece of a peso cut into four parts was worth two bits >
(3) : a unit of value equal to 1/8 of a dollar (12 1/2 cents) — used only of even multiples
< four bits >
< six bits >
(4) : a unit of value equal to 1/500 of a daler
< 2 1/2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, and 50-bit coins were issued >
— used in the Virgin islands of the United States when they were the Danish West Indies
(5) in British Guiana : fourpence; also : a corresponding unit of value equal to 1/6 of a florin
(6) Britain : any particular small coin
< a threepenny bit >
< a sixpenny bit >
c. : a small piece of hot glass gathered on an iron rod ready to be attached to a glass vessel (as to form a foot or handle)
d. ceramics : a loose material (as flint fragments) sprinkled over the bottom of a sagger to prevent glazed pieces (as cups) from adhering to it — called also bitstone
e. : a section of rootstock or rhizome (as of bananas) used in propagation
3. chiefly of immaterial objects : something small or unimportant of its kind: as
a. of time
(1) : a brief period : while
< rest a bit longer >
(2) chiefly Scotland : the exact or critical moment
< he came just at the bit >
(3) slang : a term of imprisonment
b. : somewhat : some degree or extent — used chiefly in the phrase a bit of
< there is a bit of the cad in all men >
< a bit of a mystery >
c. : the smallest or an insignificant amount or degree : whit, mite — often used adverbially with a
< the sauce is a bit too sweet >
< she felt a bit better after her nap >
d. : one's contribution however small to a cause — used chiefly in the phrase do one's bit
e. : a sketch or incident in a literary work or in a theatrical performance
< leafing the pages seeking the bits that had brightened his childhood >
< one of the best bits was the bawdy exchange between the two brothers in the second act >
often : a sketch forming a unit in a burlesque or nightclub show
f. : a small part usually with some spoken lines in a theatrical performance — compare walk-on
4. slang : a young woman : girl — sometimes used disparagingly
•
- a bit of all right
IV. adjective
chiefly Scotland : small
< a bit lassie >
< bit portraits of worthies like Rob Roy — New Yorker >
V.
past or nonstandard past part of bite
VI.
Scotland
variant of but
VII. noun
(-s)
Etymology: binary digit
1. : a unit of information equivalent to the result of a choice between two equally probable alternatives — used especially in communication and information theory
2. : a unit of memory corresponding to the ability to store the result of a choice between two alternatives — used especially in connection with digital computing devices
VIII. noun
Etymology: bit (III)
1. : a characteristic situation, appearance, behavior, or action
< book burning, unless it's an embassy library, is strictly a Fascist bit — Gene Williams >
< I never have dates or call up a girl and meet her and take her out, that whole bit — Arthur Garfunkle >
2. : an action or mode of behavior likened to a theater role or sketch
< starts in with one of her crazy lunatic bits — Judith Rossner >
3. : subject under consideration : matter
< as for the bit about marriage being a woman's be-all and end-all — Letty C. Pogrebin >
— often used as a general indirect reference to something specified or implied
< the blouson top … matches exactly. The blouson bit is piped in suede — Lois Long >
IX. noun
Etymology: bit (VII)
: the physical representation (as in a computer tape or memory) of a bit by an electrical pulse, a magnetized spot, or a hole whose presence or absence indicates data |