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Definition: bit from Philip's Encyclopedia

Abbreviation for binary digit, a 1 or 0 used in the binary system. In computing, a bit is the smallest element of storage. Groups of bits form a byte of binary code representing letters and other characters. Binary code is used in computing because it is easy to represent each 1 or 0 by the presence or absence of an electrical voltage. The code is also easy to store on disk as a magnetic or optical pattern.


bit

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In computing, a single binary digit, either 0 or 1. A bit is the smallest unit of data stored in a computer; all other data must be coded into a pattern of individual bits. A byte represents sufficient computer memory to store a single character of data, and usually contains eight bits. The maximum number of bits that a computer can normally process at once is called a word . Microcomputers are often described according to how many bits of information they can handle at once. For instance, the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 (launched in 1971), was a 4-bit device. In the 1970s several different 8-bit computers, many based on the Zilog Z80 or Rockwell 6502 processors, came into common use. In 1981, the IBM Personal Computer (PC) was introduced, using the Intel 8088 processor, which combined a 16-bit processor with an 8-bit data bus . Business micros of the later 1980s began to use 32-bit processors such as the Intel 80386 and Motorola 68030. Machines based on the first 64-bit…
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Full text Article bit

From Word Origins
There are three distinct nouns bit in English, but the two most ancient ones are probably both related ultimately to the verb bite. Bit as in ‘drill bit’ [OE] originally meant simply ‘bite’ or ‘biting’. The Old English word, bite , came from Germanic *bitiz , a derivative of the verb *bītan ‘bite’. …
| 129 words
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Full text Article Bit

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
A piece, a morsel, and basically the same word as ‘bite’, meaning a piece bitten off. French morceau , ‘bit’, ‘piece’, is similarly related to mordre , ‘to bite’. The word was also formerly used for a piece of money, as a ‘threepenny bit’, ‘two-shilling bit’. In the USA a bit is an eighth of a…
| 297 words
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Full text Article bit

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In computing, a single binary digit, either 0 or 1. A bit is the smallest unit of data stored in a computer; all other data must be coded into a pattern of individual bits. A byte represents sufficient computer memory to store a single character of data, and usually contains eight bits. The maximum…
| 225 words
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Full text Article bit 1

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
A small portion, degree, or amount: a bit of lint; a bit of luck. A brief amount of time; a moment: Wait a bit. a. A short scene or episode in a theatrical performance. b. A bit part. An entertainment routine given regularly by a performer; an act. In... …
| 157 words
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Full text Article bit; b2

From A/V A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms
The smallest possible unit of information; a yes or no answer to a single, unambiguous question; the basic unit of data storage in a digital computer, usually expressed as 1 (on/true) or 0 (off/false) using base-2 arithmetic. Digital system capabilities are often measured in bits. For example, CPUs…
| 200 words
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Full text Article bit 3

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary
(bef. 12c) 1 :  a small quantity of food; esp :  a small delicacy 2 a :  a small piece or quantity of some material thing b (1) :  a small coin (2) :  a unit of value equal to ⅛ of a dollar 3 : something small or unimportant of its kind: as a :  a brief period : while 〈wait a ⁓ longer〉 b :  an…
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Full text Article bit / byte

From The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style
The word bit is short for bi nary digi t . A bit consists of one of two values, usually 0 or 1. Computers use bits because their system of counting is based on two options: switches on a microchip that are either on or off. Thus, a computer counts to seven in bits as follows: 0, 1, 10 [2], 11 [3], …
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Full text Article bit 2

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
The sharp part of a tool, such as the cutting edge of a knife or axe. A pointed and threaded tool for drilling and boring that is secured in a brace, bitstock, or drill press. The part of a key that enters the lock and engages the bolt and tumblers. The tip of the mouthpiece on a pipe or a cigarette…
| 171 words
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Full text Article bits and bytes

From Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology
One byte in memory can store an 8-bit binary...
Computer users soon become familiar with the use of bits (or more commonly bytes) as a measurement of the capacity of computer memory (RAM) and storage devices such as disk drives. They also speak of such things as "16-bit color," referring to the number of different colors that can be specified and…
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Full text Article bit

From Collins Spanish Dictionary
[N] 1 (= piece ) trozo m, pedazo m • bits of paper trozos mpl o pedazos mpl de papel • have you got a bit of paper I can write on? ¿tienes un trozo de papel para escribir? • a marriage certificate is only a bit of paper he washed off every bit of dirt se lavó hasta la última mancha de suciedad in…
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