PHRASE
If someone
is champing at the bit
or
is chomping at the bit
, they are very impatient to do something, but they are prevented from doing it, usually by circumstances that they have no control over. □
I expect you're champing at the bit, so we'll get things going as soon as we can.
15
PHRASE
If you
do
your
bit
, you do something that, to a small or limited extent, helps to achieve something. □
Marcie always tried to do her bit.
16
PHRASE
You say that one thing is
every bit as
good, interesting, or important as
another to emphasize that the first thing is just as good, interesting, or important as the second. [EMPHASIS
] □
My dinner jacket is every bit as good as his.
17
PHRASE
If you say that something is
a bit much
, you are annoyed because you think someone has behaved in an unreasonable way. [mainly BRIT
, INFORMAL
, FEELINGS
] □
It's a bit much expecting me to dump your boyfriend for you.
18
PHRASE
You use
not a bit
when you want to make a strong negative statement. [mainly BRIT
, EMPHASIS
] □
I'm really not a bit surprised.
□
'Are you disappointed?'—'Not a bit.'
19
PHRASE
You say
not a bit of it
to emphasize that something that you might expect to be the case is not the case. [BRIT
, EMPHASIS
] □
Did he give up? Not a bit of it!
20
PHRASE
You can use
bits and pieces
or
bits and bobs
to refer to a collection of different things. [INFORMAL
]
21
PHRASE
If you
get the bit between
your
teeth
, or
take the bit between
your
teeth
, you become very enthusiastic about a job you have to do.
22
PHRASE
If something is smashed or blown
to bits
, it is broken into a number of pieces. If something falls
to bits
, it comes apart so that it is in a number of pieces. □
She found a pretty yellow jug smashed to bits.
23
thrilled to bits
→ see
thrilled
bitch
/b
I
tʃ/ (bitches
, bitching
, bitched
)
1
N‑COUNT
If someone calls a woman a
bitch
, they are saying in a very rude way that they think she behaves in a very unpleasant way. [RUDE
, OFFENSIVE
, DISAPPROVAL
]
2
→ see also
son of a bitch
3
VERB
[oft cont] If you say that someone
is bitchingabout
something, you mean that you disapprove of the fact that they are complaining about it in an unpleasant way. [INFORMAL
, DISAPPROVAL
] □ [V
+ about
]
They're forever bitching about everybody else.
[Also V
]
4
N‑COUNT
A
bitch
is a female dog.
bitchy
/b
I
tʃi/ ADJ
If someone is being
bitchy
or is making
bitchy
remarks, they are saying unkind things about someone. [INFORMAL
, DISAPPROVAL
] □
I'm sorry. I know I was bitchy on the phone.
●
bitchi|ness
N‑UNCOUNT
□
There's a lot of bitchiness.
bit|coin
/b
I
tkɔ
I
n/ (bitcoins
) also
Bitcoin
N‑UNCOUNT
Bitcoin
is a digital currency used as a means of payment on the internet. □
Is bitcoin the gold standard of online currency?
● N‑COUNT
A
bitcoin
is a unit of this currency. □
Shops in some parts of Berlin now take payments in bitcoins as well as euros.
bite
◆◆◆ /ba
I
t/ (bites
, biting
, bit
, bitten
)
1
VERB
If you
bite
something, you use your teeth to cut into it, for example in order to eat it or break it. If an animal or person
bites
you, they use their teeth to hurt or injure you. □ [V
n]
Both sisters bit their nails as children.
□ [V
+ into
]
He bit into his sandwich.
□ [V
n adv/prep]
He had bitten the cigarette in two.
□ [V
]
Llamas won't bite or kick.
2
N‑COUNT
A
bite
of something, especially food, is the action of biting it. □ [+ of
]
He took another bite of apple.
□
You cannot eat a bun in one bite.
● N‑COUNT
A
bite
is also the amount of food you take into your mouth when you bite it. □
Look forward to eating the food and enjoy every bite.
3
N‑SING
[usu N
to-inf] If you have
a bite
to eat, you have a small meal or a snack. [INFORMAL
] □
It was time to go home for a little rest and a bite to eat.