GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 8 definitions 

  1.       

    Bit , n. [OE. bitt, bite, AS. bite, bite, fr. bītan to bite. See Bite, n. & v., and cf. Bit a morsel.]
    1. 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.
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
      The foamy bridle with the bit of gold.
      Chaucer.

      1913 Webster
    2. Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.
      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  2.       

    Bit, n. In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.
    Webster 1913 Suppl.
    
      
    
  3.       

    Bit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bitted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bitting.] To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.
    1913 Webster
    
      
    
  4.       

    Bit, imp. & p. p. of Bite.
    1913 Webster
    
      
    
  5.       

    Bit, n. [OE. bite, AS. bita, fr. bītan to bite; akin to D. beet, G. bissen bit, morsel, Icel. biti. See Bite, v., and cf. Bit part of a bridle.]
    1. 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.
      1913 Webster
    2. Somewhat; something, but not very great.
      1913 Webster
      My young companion was a bit of a poet.
      T. Hook.

      1913 Webster
      ☞ This word is used, also, like jot and whit, to express the smallest degree; as, he is not a bit wiser.
      1913 Webster
    3. A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock.
      1913 Webster
    4. The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.
      Knight.

      1913 Webster
    5. The cutting iron of a plane.
      Knight.

      1913 Webster
    6. 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.
      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  6.       

    Bit (Information theory, Computers) [binary digit.] n.
    1. The smallest unit of information, equivalent to a choice between two alternatives, as yes or no; on or off.  See also qubit.
      PJC
    2. (Computers) The physical representation of a bit of information in a computer memory or a data storage medium.  Within a computer circuit a bit may be represented by the state of a current or an electrical charge; in a magnetic storage medium it may be represented by the direction of magnetization; on a punched card or on paper tape it may be represented by the presence or absence of a hole at a particular point on the card or tape.
      PJC
      Bit my bit, piecemeal.
      Pope.

      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  7.       

    Bit, 3d sing. pr. of Bid, for biddeth. [Obs.]
    Chaucer.

    1913 Webster
    
      
    
  8.       

    Bite , v. t. [imp. Bit ; p. p. Bitten , Bit; p. pr. & vb. n. Biting.] [OE. biten, AS. bītan; akin to D. bijten, OS. bītan, OHG. bīzan, G. beissen, Goth. beitan, Icel. bīta, Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to cleave. √87. Cf. Fissure.]
    1913 Webster
    1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.
      1913 Webster
      Such smiling rogues as these,
      Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain.
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
    2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food.
      1913 Webster
    3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth. “Frosts do bite the meads.”  
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
    4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.]
      Pope.

      1913 Webster
    5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground.
      1913 Webster
      The last screw of the rack having been turned so often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned and turned with nothing to bite.
      Dickens.

      1913 Webster
      To bite the dust, To bite the ground, to fall in the agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust. -- To bite in (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic plates by means of an acid. -- To bite the thumb at (any one), formerly a mark of contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy.  “Do you bite your thumb at us?” Shak. -- To bite the tongue, to keep silence. Shak.
      1913 Webster

Last match results