Bit vs. Bite — What's the Difference?

The cutting part of a tool.

A sharp or stinging sensation.

A short period of time.

To take in or deceive.

The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a contraction of binary digit.

(of a person or animal) use the teeth to cut into something

A small piece, part, or quantity of something

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

A set of actions or ideas associated with a specific group or activity

An act of biting something in order to eat it

A girl or young woman

A piece cut off by biting

A person's genitals

A sharp or pungent flavour

A unit of 12 1/2 cents (used only in even multiples).

To cut, grip, or tear with or as if with the teeth.

A mouthpiece, typically made of metal, which is attached to a bridle and used to control a horse.

To pierce the skin of with the teeth, fangs, or mouthparts.

A tool or piece for boring or drilling

To sting with a stinger.

A unit of information expressed as either a 0 or 1 in binary notation.

To cut into with or as if with a sharp instrument

Put a bit into the mouth of (a horse).

To grip, grab, or seize

A small portion, degree, or amount

To eat into; corrode.

A brief amount of time; a moment

To cause to sting or be painful

A short scene or episode in a theatrical performance.

To grip, cut into, or injure something with or as if with the teeth.

A bit part.

To have a stinging effect.

An entertainment routine given regularly by a performer; an act.

To have a sharp taste.

A particular kind of action, situation, or behavior

To take or swallow bait.

A matter being considered

To be taken in by a ploy or deception

(Informal) An amount equal to one eighth of a dollar

Vulgar Slang To be highly disagreeable or annoying.

Chiefly British A small coin

The act of biting.

The sharp part of a tool, such as the cutting edge of a knife or axe.

A skin wound or puncture produced by an animal's teeth or mouthparts

A pointed and threaded tool for drilling and boring that is secured in a brace, bitstock, or drill press.

A stinging or smarting sensation.

The part of a key that enters the lock and engages the bolt and tumblers.

An incisive, penetrating quality

The tip of the mouthpiece on a pipe or a cigarette or cigar holder.

An amount removed by or as if by an act of biting

The metal mouthpiece of a bridle, serving to control, curb, and direct an animal.

An excerpt or fragment taken from something larger, such as a film.

Something that controls, guides, or curbs.

An amount of food taken into the mouth at one time; a mouthful.

A binary digit, having either the value 0 or 1, used to store or represent data.

(Informal) A light meal or snack.

To place a bit in the mouth of (a horse, for example).

The act or an instance of taking bait

To check or control with or as if with a bit.

A secure grip or hold applied by a tool or machine upon a working surface.

To make or grind a bit on (a key).

The part of a tool or machine that presses against and maintains a firm hold on a working surface.

Past tense and a past participle of bite.

(Dentistry) The angle at which the upper and lower teeth meet; occlusion.

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

The corrosive action of acid upon an etcher's metal plate.

A rotary cutting tool fitted to a drill, used to bore holes.

(Slang) An amount of money appropriated or withheld

A coin of a specified value.

(transitive) To cut into something by clamping the teeth.

A ten-cent piece, dime.

(transitive) To hold something by clamping one's teeth.

A unit of currency or coin in the Americas worth a fraction of a Spanish dollar; now specifically, an eighth of a US dollar.

(intransitive) To attack with the teeth.

In the southern and southwestern states, a small silver coin (such as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12½ cents; also, the sum of 12½ cents.

(intransitive) To behave aggressively; to reject advances.

A small amount of something.

(intransitive) To take hold; to establish firm contact with.

(informal) Specifically, a small amount of time.

(intransitive) To have significant effect, often negative.

Fractions of a second.

To bite a baited hook or other lure and thus be caught.

A portion of something.

To accept something offered, often secretly or deceptively, to cause some action by the acceptor.

Somewhat; something, but not very great; also used like jot and whit to express the smallest degree. See also a bit.

To sting.

(slang) A prison sentence, especially a short one.

(intransitive) To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent.

An excerpt of material making up part of a show, comedy routine, etc.

To cause sharp pain or damage to; to hurt or injure.

The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.

(intransitive) To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing.

The cutting iron of a plane.

(intransitive) To take or keep a firm hold.

The bevelled front edge of an axehead along which the cutting edge runs.

(transitive) To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to.

(BDSM) A gag of a style similar to a bridle.

To lack quality; to be worthy of derision; to suck.

(MLE) A gun.

To perform oral sex on. Used in invective.

A binary digit, generally represented as a 1 or 0.

To plagiarize, to imitate.

(computing) The smallest unit of storage in a digital computer, consisting of a binary digit.

(obsolete) To deceive or defraud; to take in.

Any datum that may take on one of exactly two values.

The act of biting.

(information theory) A unit of measure for information entropy.

The wound left behind after having been bitten.

A microbitcoin, or a millionth of a bitcoin (0.000001 BTC).

The swelling of one's skin caused by an insect's mouthparts or sting.

(transitive) To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of (a horse).

A piece of food of a size that would be produced by biting; a mouthful.

Inflection of bite, bitten

(slang) Something unpleasant.

Having been bitten.

(slang) An act of plagiarism.

The part of a bridle, usually of iron, which is inserted in the mouth of a horse, and having appendages to which the reins are fastened.

A small meal or snack.

Fig.: Anything which curbs or restrains.

(figuratively) aggression

In the British West Indies, a fourpenny piece, or groat.

The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another.

A part of anything, such as may be bitten off or taken into the mouth; a morsel; a bite. Hence: A small piece of anything; a little; a mite.

A cheat; a trick; a fraud.

Somewhat; something, but not very great.

A sharper; one who cheats.

A tool for boring, of various forms and sizes, usually turned by means of a brace or bitstock. See Bitstock.

(printing) A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.

The part of a key which enters the lock and acts upon the bolt and tumblers.

(slang) A cut, a proportion of profits; an amount of money.

The cutting iron of a plane.

(television) sound bite

In the Southern and Southwestern States, a small silver coin (as the real) formerly current; commonly, one worth about 12 1/2 cents; also, the sum of 12 1/2 cents.

To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth; as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.

To put a bridle upon; to put the bit in the mouth of.

To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some insects) used in taking food.

The smallest unit of information, equivalent to a choice between two alternatives, as yes or no; on or off.

To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure, in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the mouth.

The physical representation of a bit of information in a computer memory or a data storage medium. Within a computer circuit a bit may be represented by the state of a current or an electrical charge; in a magnetic storage medium it may be represented by the direction of magnetization; on a punched card or on paper tape it may be represented by the presence or absence of a hole at a particular point on the card or tape.

To cheat; to trick; to take in.

A small quantity;

To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the anchor bites the ground.

A small fragment of something broken off from the whole;

To seize something forcibly with the teeth; to wound with the teeth; to have the habit of so doing; as, does the dog bite?

An indefinitely short time;

To cause a smarting sensation; to have a property which causes such a sensation; to be pungent; as, it bites like pepper or mustard.

An instance of some kind;

To cause sharp pain; to produce anguish; to hurt or injure; to have the property of so doing.

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

To take a bait into the mouth, as a fish does; hence, to take a tempting offer.

A unit of measurement of information (from Binary + digIT); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states;

To take or keep a firm hold; as, the anchor bites.

A small amount of solid food; a mouthful;

The act of seizing with the teeth or mouth; the act of wounding or separating with the teeth or mouth; a seizure with the teeth or mouth, as of a bait; as, to give anything a hard bite.

A small fragment;

The act of puncturing or abrading with an organ for taking food, as is done by some insects.

A short theatrical performance that is part of a longer program;

The wound made by biting; as, the pain of a dog's or snake's bite; the bite of a mosquito.

The cutting part of a drill; usually pointed and threaded and is replaceable in a brace or bitstock or drill press;

A morsel; as much as is taken at once by biting.

A small piece or fragment.

The hold which the short end of a lever has upon the thing to be lifted, or the hold which one part of a machine has upon another.

The smallest data unit in computing, binary digit.

A cheat; a trick; a fraud.

Past tense of the verb Bite.

A sharper; one who cheats.

A blank on the edge or corner of a page, owing to a portion of the frisket, or something else, intervening between the type and paper.

A wound resulting from biting by an animal or a person

A small amount of solid food; a mouthful;

A painful wound caused by the thrust of an insect's stinger into skin

A light informal meal

(angling) an instance of a fish taking the bait;

Wit having a sharp and caustic quality;

A strong odor or taste property;

The act of gripping or chewing off with the teeth and jaws

A portion removed from the whole;

To grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws;

Cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort;

Penetrate or cut, as with a knife;

Deliver a sting to;

The act of cutting into something with teeth.

A small portion of food.

The wound or mark left by biting.