bit

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the cutting part of a drill

   usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press

2. 2
   noun

   piece of metal held in horse's mouth by reins and used to control the horse while riding

   the horse was not accustomed to a bit

3. 3
   noun

   a small fragment of something broken off from the whole

   A bit of rock caught me in the eye.

4. 4
   noun

   A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to the reins to direct the animal.

   A horse hates having a bit put in its mouth.

5. 5
   noun

   A rotary cutting tool, fitted to a drill, brace, or router, used to bore or drill holes or to remove material from the profile of the workpiece.

   router bit

6. 6
   noun

   Applied to a various small units of currency and coins.

   a threepenny bit

7. 7
   noun

   A small amount of something.

   There were bits of paper all over the floor.

8. 8
   noun

   Specifically, a small amount of time.

   I'll be there in a bit; I need to take care of something first.

Etymology

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.