a small piece or quantity of something; a spot of tea; a bit of paper; a bit of lint; I gave him a bit of my mind

[ Syn: spot ]

the part of a key that enters a lock and lifts the tumblers

the cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press; he looked around for the right size bit'

a small fragment of something broken off from the whole; a bit of rock caught him in the eye

[ Syn: chip , flake , fleck , scrap ]

an indefinitely short time; wait just a moment; in a mo; it only takes a minute; in just a bit

[ Syn: moment , mo , minute , second ]

an instance of some kind; it was a nice piece of work; he had a bit of good luck

[ Syn: piece ]

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'

a unit of measurement of information (from binary + digit); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states; there are 8 bits in a byte'

a small amount of solid food; a mouthful; all they had left was a bit of bread

[ Syn: morsel , bite ]

a small fragment; overheard snatches of their conversation

[ Syn: snatch ]

a short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program; he did his act three times every evening; she had a catchy little routine; it was one of the best numbers he ever did

[ Syn: act , routine , number , turn ]