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.

  • 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.
  • noun Nautical, a strong post of wood or iron to which cables are made fast.

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.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word bitt.

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

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • 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