Noun (2)
she left only a bit of the broccoli on her plate bits of cookie scattered on the table
I'll have only a bit of food right now
this will only take a bit
known for a comedic bit in which she portrayed a very nervous student driver
wielding silver trays, the servers offered partygoers a variety of exotic-looking bits
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The Bruins did a little bit of business on Sunday, signing forward Marat Khusnutdinov and defenseman Michael Callahan to two- and one-year deals, respectively.—Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 30 June 2025 The beloved mega rest stop has officially opened its doors at its first Virginia location, bringing a little bit of Texas to the Commonwealth.—Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 30 June 2025
Verb
The logic of those who don’t buy into the bits and bytes is that there is no way that bits and bytes could combine to formulate AGI.—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025 The party happened at the home of Albert, and after O’Keefe’s death, the Alberts rehomed their dog Chloe — who the defense claims bit O’Keefe — and refurbished their basement before selling their home at a loss.—Michael Casey, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for bit
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Middle English bite, bit "bite of an animal, cutting edge, point, mouthpiece of a bridle," going back to Old English bite "bite of an animal, cut from a weapon," going back to Germanic *biti- (whence Old Saxon biti "bite, sting," Old High German biz [gebiz "mouthpiece of a bridle"], Old Norse bit), noun derivative from the base of *bītan- "to bite" — more at bite entry 1
Middle English bite, bit "mouthful of food, morsel," going back to Old English bita, bite, going back to Germanic *bitan- (whence Middle Dutch bete "morsel," Old High German bizzo, Old Norse biti), noun derivative from the base of *bītan- "to bite" — more at bite entry 1
Noun (3)
from binary digit
Note:
The term bit was introduced into general circulation by Claude shannon in "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 27, July, 1948, p. 380: "The choice of a logarithmic base corresponds to the choice of a unit for measuring information. If the base 2 is used the resulting units may be called binary digits, or more briefly bits, a word suggested by J.W. Tukey." The American mathematician John W. Tukey (1915-2000) had used the word in a Bell Labs memorandum, "Sequential Conversion of Continuous Data to Digital Data," dated January 9, 1947. Tukey employed bit as a counterpart in a binary system to digit in the decimal system. For details see "The Origin of Bit" in the "Anecdotes" section of Annals of the History of Computing, vol 6, no. 2 (April, 1984), pp. 152-55.
First Known Use
Noun (1)
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Share