bit

For the verb: "to bite"

Simple Past:	bit
Past Participle:	bitten

Multiple Entries:
  bit    bite  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bit1

▶noun

• 1 a small piece, quantity, or extent of something.

• 2 informal a set of actions or ideas associated with a specific activity: she did her theatrical bit.

• 3 informal a girl or young woman.

• 4 N. Amer. informal a unit of 12 1/2 cents (used only in even multiples).

– phrases
a bit somewhat.
bit by bit gradually.
a bit of a ——

• 1 used to suggest that something is not severe or extreme: a bit of an accident.

• 2 denoting a young person or one of slight build: a bit of a girl.

a bit of all right Brit. informal an attractive or pleasing person or thing.
bit of fluff (or skirt or stuff) Brit. informal a woman regarded in sexual terms.
bit on the side Brit. informal

• 1 a person with whom one is unfaithful to one's partner.

• 2 money earned outside one's normal job.

do one's bit informal make a useful contribution.
in bits Brit. informal very upset or emotionally affected.
to bits

• 1 into pieces.

• 2 informal very much.

– origin OE bita ‘bite, mouthful’, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bit2

past of bite.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bit3

▶noun

• 1 a metal mouthpiece attached to a bridle, used to control a horse.

• 2 a tool or piece for boring or drilling.

  ■ the cutting or gripping part of a plane, pincers, or other tool.

• 3 the part of a key that engages with the lock lever.

• 4 the copper head of a soldering iron.

▶verb put a bit into the mouth of (a horse).

– phrases
get (or take or have) the bit between (or N. Amer. in) one's teeth begin to tackle a task in a determined way.

– derivatives
-bitted adjective.

– origin OE bite ‘biting, a bite’, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bit4

▶noun Computing a unit of information expressed as either a 0 or 1 in binary notation.

– origin 1940s: blend of binary and digit.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bite/bʌɪt/

▶verb (past bit; past part. bitten)

• 1 use the teeth to cut into something.

  ■ (of a snake, insect, or spider) wound with a sting, pincers, or fangs.

• 2 (of a tool, tyre, boot, etc.) grip or take hold on a surface.

  ■ (of an object) press painfully into part of the body.

• 3 (of an acid) corrode a surface.

• 4 take effect, with unpleasant consequences: the budget cuts were starting to bite.

  ■ informal annoy or worry: what's biting you now?

• 5 (of a fish) take the bait or lure on the end of a fishing line into the mouth.

  ■ informal be persuaded to accept an offer.

• 6 (bite something back) refrain with difficulty from saying something.

▶noun

• 1 an act or instance of biting.

  ■ a piece cut off by biting.

  ■ Dentistry the bringing together of the teeth in occlusion.

• 2 informal a quick snack.

• 3 a sharp or pungent flavour.

  ■ a feeling of cold in the air.

– phrases
be bitten by the —— bug develop a passionate interest in a specified activity.
bite the big one N. Amer. informal

• 1 die.

• 2 be very unpleasant.

bite the bullet decide after hesitation to do something difficult or unpleasant. [from the old custom of giving wounded soldiers a bullet to bite on when undergoing surgery without anaesthetic.]
bite the dust informal die or be killed.
bite the hand that feeds one deliberately harm or offend a benefactor.
bite off more than one can chew take on a commitment one cannot fulfil.
the biter bitten (or bit) indicating that someone is being treated in the same way as they have treated others.
bite one's tongue make a desperate effort to avoid saying something.
once bitten, twice shy an unpleasant experience induces caution.
one could have bitten one's tongue off one profoundly regrets having said something.
put the bite on N. Amer. & Austral./NZ informal borrow or extort money from. [1930s (orig. US): bite, from the sl. sense ‘deception’.]

– derivatives
biter noun.

– origin OE bītan, of Gmc origin.