(bit) noun
1. A small piece, portion, or fragment; a little.
2. The smallest quantity; a whit; jot.
3. A small quantity of food; a morsel; taste; bite.
4. In Great Britain, a small coin, usually of a named value: a threepenny bit.
5. In the United States, the Spanish real or its equivalent, 12½ cents.
6. A short time.
7. Slang A typical or standard practice, procedure, or way of acting.
—a long bit U.S. Dial. 15 cents.
—a short bit U.S. Dial. 10 cents.
—two bits U.S. Colloq. 25 cents. [OE bita <bītan bite] Synonyms: dole, driblet, drop, installment, item, mite, morsel, particle, scrap.

(bit) noun
1. A wood'boring tool adapted to be used with a stock or brace.
2. The metallic mouthpiece of a bridle.
3. Anything that controls or holds in subjection.
4. One of various objects somewhat like a boring bit or a bridle bit.
5. The part of a key that engages the bolt or tumblers of a lock.
6. The cutting blade of a plane.
—v.t. bit·ted, bit·ting
1. To put a bit in the mouth of; train, as a horse, to the use of a bit.
2. To curb; restrain.
3. To make a bit on (a key). [OE bite a biting <bitan bite]
BITS AND BITSTOCK
a. Brace.
b. Screwdriver bit.
c. Drill bit.
d. Ship auger bit.
e. Auger bit.
f. Expanding bit.
g. Cross'section of chuck for holding bits.

(bit)
Past tense of BITE.

(bit) noun Telecom.
A single unit of information; specifically, one of the coded digital signals forming part of a complete message in the operation of an electronic computing machine: also called binit. [<B(INARY) (DIG)-IT]