Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A vertical post, usually one of a pair, set on the deck of a ship and used to secure ropes or cables.
  • transitive verb To wind (a cable) around a bitt.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Nautical, a strong post of wood or iron to which cables are made fast.
  • Nautical, to put round the bitts: as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to let it out gradually. The latter process is called veering away.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Naut.) See bitts.
  • transitive verb (Naut.) To put round the bitts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To put round the bitts; as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to slacken it gradually, which is called veering away.
  • noun nautical A bollard

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb secure with a bitt
  • noun a strong post (as on a wharf or quay or ship for attaching mooring lines)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps of Dutch or Low German origin; akin to Old Norse biti, crossbeam.]

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Examples

  • July 17th, 2008 at 6: 33 am i'm in ff3 on a pc and it looks fine to me … must be mac ff3 users who are experiencing trouble? anyway, i like a cleaner look, personally … grungy sites are great for personal use, but i think the more professional sites look better without it. (however, i wouldn't be against seeing a 'bitt' more personalization here …)

    BittBox 2008

  • July 17th, 2008 at 6: 33 am i'm in ff3 on a pc and it looks fine to me … must be mac ff3 users who are experiencing trouble? anyway, i like a cleaner look, personally … grungy sites are great for personal use, but i think the more professional sites look better without it. (however, i wouldn't be against seeing a 'bitt' more personalization here …)

    BittBox 2008

  • July 17th, 2008 at 6: 33 am i'm in ff3 on a pc and it looks fine to me … must be mac ff3 users who are experiencing trouble? anyway, i like a cleaner look, personally … grungy sites are great for personal use, but i think the more professional sites look better without it. (however, i wouldn't be against seeing a 'bitt' more personalization here …)

    BittBox 2008

  • Oofty-Oofty took a turn on a bitt, the rope tautened, and the Ghost, lunging onward, jerked the cook to the surface.

    Chapter 21 2010

  • One man I noticed fetch up, head on and square on, with the starboard bitt.

    THE HEATHEN 2010

  • One man I noticed fetch up, head on and square on, with the starboard bitt.

    THE HEATHEN 2010

  • Owur fabrit B&B maiks a termayder “Napoleon” sallid – tehy stakk frosch termayders wif slyses uv mozzarelly adn frosch bayzil leeves untyl teh stak izz abowt fwee inchus ohai, and cut itz intu a rekkytanglol soe itzreezemblols teh paystree Napoleon, – a bitt uv seesawlt adn froschlolee-krakkeded peppur, adn a dreseng uv redoosed balsamick vinnygrrr.

    nobbody undestands - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2010

  • April 14, 2010 at 11:50 am ebbree liddlol bitt halpz, aifinkso!

    Dis may be de most - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2010

  • Ai haz a bitt uv an awf-toppik kweschun – peery oddiklolee ai sea sumwun menshun a paij foar cheezepeeps awn teh buk ov fayses – wuud sumwun pweese letz mih noe wich wun itz izz?

    dont worry, if da guy grabs your purse, - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2010

  • May 26, 2010 at 8:04 pm mai aiez, itt seemz, arre a bitt maor leek-proof den sum…butt ai agreez wiff yoo…

    Is simples. - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2010

Comments

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  • See mangerboard, or bitts, for usage notes.

    February 23, 2008

  • as in bitt-er end

    January 9, 2009

  • "Tripping over this bollard wasn't much fun," said Tom bitterly.

    February 9, 2016