Bit
[bɪt]
Definition
(noun.) the cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press; 'he looked around for the right size bit'.
(noun.) piece of metal held in horse's mouth by reins and used to control the horse while riding; 'the horse was not accustomed to a bit'.
(noun.) the part of a key that enters a lock and lifts the tumblers.
(noun.) a small fragment of something broken off from the whole; 'a bit of rock caught him in the eye'.
(noun.) a unit of measurement of information (from binary + digit); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states; 'there are 8 bits in a byte'.
Checker: Steve--From WordNet
Definition
(v.) The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which the reins are fastened.
(v.) Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.
(v. t.) To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.
(-) imp. & p. p. of Bite.
(v.) A part of anything, such as may be bitten off or taken into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of anything; a little; a mite.
(v.) Somewhat; something, but not very great.
(v.) A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock.
(v.) The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.
(v.) The cutting iron of a plane.
(v.) In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12 1/2 cents; also, the sum of 12 1/2 cents.
(-) 3d sing. pr. of Bid, for biddeth.
(imp.) of Bite
(-) of Bite
Edited by Gene
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Mouth-piece of a bridle.[2]. Mouthful, morsel, crumb, fragment, scrap.[3]. Whit, tittle, jot, iota, particle, atom, grain, mite, ace, scintilla.
Editor: Peter
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Morsel, piece, fragment, part
ANT:Mass, whole
Checked by Clarice
Definition
n. a bite a morsel: a small piece: the smallest degree: a small tool for boring (see Brace): the part of the bridle which the horse holds in his mouth (see Bridle)—hence To take the bit in his teeth to be beyond restraint.—v.t. to put the bit in the mouth; to curb or restrain:—pr.p. bit′ting; pa.p. bit′ted.—Bit by bit piecemeal gradually.
Editor: Zeke
Examples
- Not a bit like home, added Amy. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I think I am a bit i' that line. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Again, a minute bit of bark has been upturned by the scraping hand, and the direction of the break indicates the direction of the passage. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Of course you will find plenty of socialists who see other issues and who smile a bit at the rigors of economic determinism. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Ye couldn't treat a poor sinner, now, to a bit of sermon, could ye,--eh? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- He opened a drawer and took out a bit of metal. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- What do you think of that for a fine bit of antithesis? George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The red bit, the black bit, the inkstand top, the other inkstand top, the little sand-box. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Not a bit on it, said the strange man. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- But the deuce a bit would they sit down. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Wait a bit, though! Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- It's a fine bit of work, Susan! George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Harry as the Saracen should strut a bit more, and John needn't holler his inside out. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- We go grubbing along day after day, without a bit of change, and very little fun. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Well, it may be better to wait a bit. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Crape, keys, centre-bits, darkies--nothing forgotten? Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- As it was, she merely stipulated, If you bring the boy back with his head blown to bits by a musket, don't look to me to put it together again. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Did the Azilians play with these pebbles or tell a story with them, as imaginative children will do with bits of wood and stone nowadays? H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Take a vial about two-thirds full of muriatic acid and put into it little bits of sheet zinc as long as the acid will dissolve them. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Oh, Lord, I am shaken to bits! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He was like a flask that is smashed to atoms, he seemed to himself that he was all fragments, smashed to bits. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- They used them to hammer with, perhaps they used them to fight with, and perhaps they used bits of wood for similar purposes. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I took the paper in my hands as soon as I had read it--I tore it up to little bits--I tore it--oh! Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- In 1770 Dr. Priestley published the fact that this rubber had become notable for rubbing out pencil marks, bits of it being sold for a high price for that purpose. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Bring them bits of timber, Barney. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Bits of old wood carvings from the pulpit, and panels from the chancel, and images from the organ-loft, said the clerk. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzles against my body and nosing for the bits of food it was always my practice to reward them with. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- Then we three pushed the wagon seven miles, and Oliver moved ahead and pulled the horses after him by the bits. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- I never can, so I'll only give you bits out of my notebook, for I've done nothing but sketch and scribble since I started. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Inputed by Elsa