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 information retained in server log files typically include client IP address, request date and time, the page URL requested, the HTTP response code, the volume of bytes served as well as the user agent and the referrer.

From Search Engine Land

In science, data are a body of facts, but in the digital world they are bits and bytes of information.

From Time

With a slew of buttons, motors, cables, nuts, screws and a few more bits and bytes, your future engineers can explore the world of robot arm control.

From Popular-Science

For each of the recommendations you are making, you will also be able to see the “Savings” that could be made by fixing that particular issue, either in bytes or milliseconds.

From Search Engine Land

Images account for more bytes than any other part of a website, and this is especially true for ecommerce sites, as they tend to have hundreds if not thousands of products and therefore product images.

From Search Engine Watch

Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye/ and an edder in the path/ and byte the horse heles/ so yt his ryder shall fall backwarde.

From Project Gutenberg

Theye byte sore, and venomouslye, and defende themselves stoutlye.

From Project Gutenberg