<B>bistate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or between two states. <BR> <I>Ex. A bistate agreement made in 1785 gave Virginians fishing rights in its [Maryland's] waters (E. M. Lynn).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bistaticradar">
<B>bistatic radar,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a radar system based on two widely separated locations, one for transmitting signals to a body in outer space, another for receiving them as they reflect back to earth. </DL>
<A NAME="bistelic">
<B>bistelic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Botany.) having two steles. </DL>
<A NAME="bister">
<B>bister</B> or <B>bistre, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a dark-brown coloring matter made from the soot of certain woods. <DD><B> 2. </B>a dark-brown color. </DL>
<A NAME="bistered">
<B>bistered</B> or <B>bistred, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> browned, as with bister. </DL>
<A NAME="bistort">
<B>bistort, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a European plant with a large, twisted root, which is sometimes used in medicine as an astringent; snakeweed. </DL>
<A NAME="bistoury">
<B>bistoury, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, narrow surgical knife with a pointed blade for making incisions. </DL>
<A NAME="bistro">
<B>bistro, </B>noun, pl. <B>-tros.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(in France) a small, modest, neighborhood wineshop and restaurant. <BR> <I>Ex. The postman went to Boutet, who kept a bistro--the social club and gathering place of the neighborhood (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Informal.) any bar or night club. </DL>
<B>bisymmetry, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the correspondence of right and left parts; bilateral symmetry. </DL>
<A NAME="bit">
<B>bit</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a small piece. <BR> <I>Ex. bits of broken glass, a bit of string. A pebble is a bit of rock.</I> (SYN) fragment, morsel, portion, particle, speck. <DD><B> 2. </B>a small amount. <BR> <I>Ex. a bit of work to do.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>(Informal.) a short time. <BR> <I>Ex. Stay a bit.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(U.S. Informal.) 12 1/2 cents. The term occurs chiefly in the expressions <I>two bits</I> (a quarter), <I>four bits</I> (a half dollar), and <I>six bits</I> (seventy-five cents). <DD><B> 5. </B>(British Informal.) any one of various coins, especially a three-penny bit. <DD><B> 6. </B>(U.S. Slang.) <DD><B> a. </B>a bit part; small part in a play or motion picture. <DD><B> b. </B>a piece of stage business; a routine. <BR> <I>Ex. ... they went conspicuously into the "Gee, boss, you were great!" bit (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> c. </B>any typical or standard style, practice, or act. <BR> <I>Ex. I'm wearing the uniform: the button-down shirt, the V-neck, the stay-presseds, the penny loafers, the whole bit (New Yorker).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>a bit,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>a little; slightly. </I> <I>Ex. I am a bit tired.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>somewhat. <BR> <I>Ex. The boy who hung around so much became a bit of a nuisance to the workmen.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>a bit much,</B> </I>excessively inconvenient or inconsiderate. <BR> <I>Ex. That hand-pulled, open lift in a sort of black chimney at the back, where you go in connection with registered baggage, is a bit much for anyone straight from shiny, continental stations (Punch).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>a bit of all right,</B> </I>(British Informal.) something or someone heartily approved. <BR> <I>Ex. This beef is a bit of all right, ma'am (H. G. Wells).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>a bit of one's mind,</B> </I>a person's frank, and usually unfavorable, opinion. <BR> <I>Ex. He had given the house what was called a "bit of his mind" on the subject (London Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bit by bit,</B> </I>little by little. <BR> <I>Ex. ... this sort of bit-by-bit reform, going on for six hundred years (Edward Freeman).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bits and pieces,</B> </I>stray or small articles; odds and ends. <BR> <I>Ex. Our garage is filled with bits and pieces of lumber we've collected over the years.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>do one's bit,</B> </I>to do one's share. <BR> <I>Ex. Each person did his bit toward getting the meal on the table.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>every bit,</B> </I>entirely; quite. <BR> <I>Ex. The university's social function is every bit as important as its intellectual one (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>not a bit,</B> </I>not at all. <BR> <I>Ex. He is not a bit the worse for his ordeal.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>not a bit of it,</B> </I>not at all; not likely. <BR> <I>Ex. But not a bit of it, for Oxford came back with a shattering try (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bit">
<B>bit</B> (2), verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> the past tense and a past participle of <B>bite.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The strong trap bit the leg of the fox.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bit">
<B>bit</B> (3), noun, verb, <B>bitted,</B> <B>bitting.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a tool for boring or drilling that fits into a handle called a brace or into an electric drill. <DD><B> 2. </B>the biting or cutting part of a tool. <DD><B> 3. </B>the part of a bridle that goes in a horse's mouth. A bit acts as a control, together with the connecting parts, such as the rings to which the reins are attached. <DD><B> 4. </B>anything that curbs or restrains. <DD><B> 5. </B>the part of a key that goes into a lock and makes it turn. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to put a bit in the mouth of (a horse); accustom to the bit; bridle. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to curb; restrain. <DD><B> 3. </B>to make a bit on (a key). <BR><I>expr. <B>champ at the bit,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to be restless or impatient, as from lack of activity or from suppression. </I> <I>Ex. He ... was champing at the bit and acted like a caged lion, so eager was he to get back to work on a less restricted basis (Wall Street Journal).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(of a horse)to work the bit between the teeth impatiently. <BR><I>expr. <B>take the bit in one's teeth,</B> <DD><B> a. </B>to move ahead or act on one's own; refuse to accept guidance or control. </I> <I>Ex. The way he had of taking the bit in his teeth offended his employer.</I> <DD><B> b. </B>(of horses) to become unmanageable. <BR> <I>Ex. His horse took the bit in his teeth and made off through the brush.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="bit">
<B>bit</B> (4), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the basic unit of information in a digital computing system, expressed in binary notation so as to specify a choice between two possibilities, such as yes or no, off or on, etc. </DL>
<A NAME="bitangent">
<B>bitangent, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geometry.) <DD><I>adj. </I> touching a curved line or surface at two different points. <BR> <I>Ex. a bitangent line or plane.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a straight line which is tangent to a curve at two different points; a double tangent. </DL>
<A NAME="bitartrate">
<B>bitartrate, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Chemistry.) a salt of tartaric acid; an acid tartrate. </DL>
