what is a bit

In computing and digital communications, a bit is the smallest unit of data that a computer can process and store. The name "bit" is a portmanteau of "binary digit," and it represents a logical state with one of two possible values. A bit can be in one of two physical states, similar to an on/off light switch. A group of eight bits is called one byte, and most systems process and store data in bytes. A byte is a sequence of eight bits that are treated as a single unit. The term "octet" is sometimes used instead of byte, and the term "nibble" is occasionally used when referring to a 4-bit unit. In addition, the term "word" is often used to describe two or more consecutive bytes, and a word is usually 16, 32, or 64 bits long.