ækt baɪt tʃɪp flɛk ˈmɪnɪt ˈməʊmənt ˈmoʊmənt ˈmɔːsəl ˈmɔɹsəl ˈnʌmbə piːs ɹuːˈtiːn ˈsɛk.(ə)nd snætʃ spɒt spɑt 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 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 the part of a key that enters a lock and lifts the tumblers a short 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 a small fragment overheard snatches of their conversation an instance of some kind it was a nice piece of work he had a bit of good luck a small amount of solid food; a mouthful all they had left was a bit of bread a small fragment of something broken off from the whole a bit of rock caught him in the eye 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 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 an indefinitely short time wait just a moment in a mo it only takes a minute in just a bit