bit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A small amount or piece of something.

   There were bits of paper all over the floor.

2. 2
   noun

   A short amount of time.

   I'll be there in a bit; I just need to finish this.

3. 3
   noun

   A small tool that fits into a drill to make holes.

   He fixed a new bit into the drill before starting.

4. 4
   noun

   A metal bar placed in a horse's mouth to control it.

   The horse hates having the bit put in its mouth.

Common collocations

• spade bit Noun + noun

From Middle English bitte, bite, from Old English bita (“bit; fragment; morsel”) and bite (“a bite; cut”), from Proto-Germanic *bitô and *bitiz; both from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). More at bite. Cognates Cognate with West Frisian bit, Saterland Frisian Bit, Dutch bit, German Low German Beet, Biet, German Biss and Bissen, Danish bid, Swedish bit, Icelandic biti.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images