bit
Smallest data unit
Three separately derived English words have the spelling bit.
The most common by far is the noun denoting a small but significant quantity of something: a bit of cheese, a bit of extra time.
If you describe someone as a bit of a liar, you are either being polite (and he is a terrible liar) or factual (and he has been known to lie occasionally).
Bit is used before an adjective to lessen its force: it’s a bit cold in here.
The second bit is related to bite and has meanings inspired by teeth, such as the bit that horses hold in their mouths, or a drill bit.
The third bit is a blend of “binary digit” and represents the smallest unit of computational information, which may be 1 or 0, on or off, yes or no.
A portion or segment
- morselSmall piece of food
- crumbSmall broken-off piece
- scrapDiscarded bit or tussle
- snippetSmall cut portion
shred · sliver · speck · particle · fleck · grain · trace · chip
Equine control harness
- mouthpieceOne who speaks officially
- snaffleJointed mouth bit
- curbRaised road margin
- hackamoreBitless horse headgear
Consisting of two parts
- dataFacts for analysis
- digitSingle numeric character
- informationKnowledge about something
- processingSystematic operation on data
storage · memory · bandwidth · transmission · compression · kilobyte · megabyte · gigabyte
Hole-boring device
- boreTiresome individual or drill
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
- masonryBuilding with mortared blocks
auger · countersink · hole · chuck · shank · flute · carbide · titanium
Small in degree
piece
A portion or segment
snippet · shred · sliver · speck · particle · fleck · grain · trace · chip · shard
bridle
Equine control harness
- mouthpieceOne who speaks officially
- snaffleJointed mouth bit
- curbRaised road margin
binary
Consisting of two parts
- dataFacts for analysis
- digitSingle numeric character
- informationKnowledge about something
processing · storage · memory · bandwidth · transmission · compression · kilobyte · megabyte · gigabyte
drill
Hole-boring device
masonry · auger · countersink · hole · chuck · shank · flute · carbide · titanium · cobalt
little
Small in degree
pinch · dash · hint · whit · iota · jot · ounce · drop · mite · modicum
routine
Regular sequence of actions
act · number · performance · segment · joke · punchline · timing · standup · improv
chew
Grind with teeth
- little bitSmall quantity or degree
- a bitSmall amount modifier
- a little bitA small amount
- bit by bitIn small increments
- bite the dustFail or perish utterly
- mosquito biteInsect-caused itchy swelling
bite, biting, bitter, bits, bitten, bites, bitty, biter, bitsy