byte

[ bahyt ]

noun

, Computers.

1. adjacent bits, usually eight, processed by a computer as a unit.
2. the combination of bits used to represent a particular letter, number, or special character.

byte

/ baɪt /

noun

1. a group of bits, usually eight, processed as a single unit of data
2. the storage space in a memory or other storage device that is allocated to such a group of bits
3. a subdivision of a word

byte

/ bīt /

1. A sequence of adjacent bits operated on as a unit by a computer. A byte usually consists of eight bits. Amounts of computer memory are often expressed in terms of megabytes (1,048,576 bytes) or gigabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes).

byte

1. In computer technology, a unit of information made up of bits (often eight bits). The memory capacity of a typical personal computer runs from millions to billions of bytes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of byte¹

First recorded in 1959; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of byte¹

C20: probably a blend of bit ⁴+ bite

Usage

The word bit is short for bi nary digi t. A bit consists of one of two values, usually 0 or 1. Computers use bits because their system of counting is based on two options: switches on a microchip that are either on or off. Thus, a computer counts to seven in bits as follows: 0, 1, 10 [2], 11 [3], 100 [4], 101 [5], 110 [6], 111 [7]. Notice that the higher the count, the more adjacent bits are needed to represent the number. For example, it requires two adjacent bits to count from 0 to 3, and it takes three adjacent bits to count from 0 to 7. A sequence of bits can represent not just numbers but other kinds of data, such as the letters and symbols on a keyboard. The sequence of 0s and 1s that make up data are usually counted in groups of 8, and these groups of 8 bits are called bytes. In origin byte is simply a respelling of bite, a byte being the number of bits that a computer can take at one bite, so to speak. The spelling change was intended to avoid confusion in written documents, since bite becomes identical to bit if the e at the end of bite is accidentally dropped. To transmit one keystroke on a typical keyboard requires one byte of information (or 8 bits). To transmit a three-letter word requires three bytes of information (or 24 bits).

Example Sentences

The cameras, part of a network that workers previously had to watch, provide billions of bytes of data for the AI system to digest.

From Seattle Times

“They managed to reach close to Atiq and his brother on the pretext of recording a byte and fired at them from close range. Both sustained bullet injuries on the head,” he said.

From Washington Times

Poor folks, just trying to do their jobs, scrolling for juicy sound bytes served up the night before by the messiest sports stars, and then they come across Jokic saying something like this:

From Washington Post

At Brunello, a town near the Swiss border in Northern Italy, data management business Pure Storage is putting a data centre on a digital diet by trimming bits and bytes and junking surplus information.

From BBC

What will it be like for shoppers when vehicles are dominated by bits and bytes instead of gears and gaskets?

From Seattle Times