bit¹ /bit/

1. A bite, morsel
2. A small piece, a little
3. A coin
4. 121/2 cents (N American) (used only in two bits, four bits or six bits, ie a quarter, a half or three-quarters of a dollar)
5. The smallest degree
6. A brief space of time
7. A small tool for boring (see brace)
8. The boring-piece of a drilling machine
9. The cutting or biting part of various tools
10. The part of the bridle that the horse holds in its mouth
11. The part of a key that engages the lever of the lock
12. Used with the effect of a diminutive, as in a bit of a laddie, a bit laddie (dialect, esp Scot)
13. A girl, young woman (informal)
14. An (area of) activity, an act, a role (slang)

1. To put the bit in the mouth of
2. To curb or restrain

bitˈless adjective

Without a bit

bitˈsy adjective (informal)

Prettily small

bittˈie noun (Scot)

A small piece, short distance, or short time

bittˈock noun (Scot)

A little bit

bittˈy adjective

1. Scrappy, disjointed, made up of odds and ends
2. Not forming an artistic whole

bitˈ-part noun

A small part in acting

bit player noun

An actor who plays bit-parts

a bit or a bit of

Somewhat, rather, as in a bit of a fool, a bit stupid

a bit of all right (slang)

A person or thing highly approved of

a bit off (informal)

In bad taste

a bit on the side (slang)

(one's partner in) extramarital sexual relations

bit by bit

1. Piecemeal
2. Gradually

bits and bobs or bits and pieces

Odds and ends

champ at the bit

To be impatient to act

do one's bit

To do one's due share

every bit

Just as much

not a bit or not a bit of it

Not at all

off the bit

On a loose rein

on the bit

On a tight rein

take (or get) the bit in (or between) one's teeth

1. To throw off control
2. To take up or have a tenacious or keen interest (in) or occupation (with something)

to bits

1. (to fall, etc) apart
2. Very much (informal)

bit² /bit/ (computing)

A binary digit (see under binary)

bitˈcoin noun

A unit of digital currency held and exchanged for goods by means of computer software

bitˈmap noun (computing)

A method of organizing the screen display whereby each pixel is assigned to one or more bits in memory, depending on the level of shading or number of colours required

bitˈ-mapped adjective

bitˈ-mapping noun

bitˈ-rate noun

The rate of transmission of bits, usu measured in bits per second

bitˈ-slice noun

A now obsolete high-performance microprocessor of either 2, 4 or 8 bits, individually programmed and combined to form a customized CPU of any desired word size

bitˈstream noun

A transmitted sequence of bits

bits per inch

A measurement for the density of data on a storage medium (abbrev bpi)

bits per second

A measurement for the rate of transmission of bits (abbrev bps)

bit³ /bit/ pat and pap of bite

bite /bīt/

1. To seize or tear with the teeth
2. To puncture with the mouthparts, as an insect does
3. To cut or penetrate
4. To eat into chemically
5. To smart or cause to smart
6. To take effect
7. To grip, to take firm hold (of)
8. To deceive, take in (now only in passive)
9. To accept something offered as bait (also figurative)
10. To speak harshly against (archaic)

1. A grasp by the teeth
2. The manner or configuration in which the teeth come together
3. A puncture by an insect
4. The wound or sore caused by this
5. A nibble at the bait (angling)
6. Something bitten off
7. A mouthful
8. A snack
9. Biting quality
10. Grip
11. Pungency
12. Incisiveness
13. Corroding action
14. A playful imposition, a swindling (obs sl)

bītˈer noun

1. A person or thing that bites
2. An animal with a habit of biting
3. A fish apt to take the bait
4. A cheat (obsolete except in the biter bit the cheater cheated; the wrongdoer paid back)

biteˈsize adjective

(of food) small enough to be eaten in one bite

bitˈing noun

The action of the verb

1. Which bites
2. Sharp, cold
3. Sarcastic

bīting louse noun

A bird-louse

biting midge noun

A tiny fly which feeds on the blood of people and animals

bite and (or or) sup

Something to eat and (or) drink

bite back

To refrain from saying

bite in (etching)

To eat out the lines of with acid

bite off more than one can chew

1. To overestimate one's capacities
2. To undertake something one cannot achieve

bite one's lip

To restrain one's anger or mirth

bite someone's head off

To speak to someone unnecessarily angrily

bite (or bite on) the bullet

1. To submit bravely to something unpleasant
2. To face up to an unpalatable fact or situation

bite the dust

1. To fall down dead
2. (of plans, etc) to come to nothing

bite the hand that feeds one

To show ingratitude, often with the likely result of losing the help one is receiving

bite the thumb (obsolete)

To express defiance by knocking the thumb-nail against the teeth

bitten off

Abruptly cut short

once bitten, twice shy

A bad experience makes one cautious on a second occasion

put the bite on

To extort money from

soundbite see under sound¹

what's biting you, etc?

What is the matter with you, etc?, what is annoying you, etc?

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