# byte

> English word · Noun · IPA /baɪt/ · frequency rank #23,771

## Definitions
1. A short sequence of bits (binary digits) that can be operated on as a unit by a computer; the smallest usable machine word.
2. A unit of computing storage equal to eight bits, which can represent any of 256 distinct values.

## Etymology
An alteration of the word bite so it would not be accidentally misspelled as bit. Coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956, during the early design phase for the IBM 7030 Stretch computer.

## Easily confused with
- **BYU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/byte-vs-byu)
- **bytes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/byte-vs-bytes)
- **be** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/be-vs-byte)
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/by-vs-byte)
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bt-vs-byte)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/but-vs-byte)
- **bit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bit-vs-byte)
- **bet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bet-vs-byte)
- **bye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bye-vs-byte)
- **bat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bat-vs-byte)
- **bee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bee-vs-byte)
- **BTW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/btw-vs-byte)
- **bot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bot-vs-byte)
- **BAE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bae-vs-byte)
- **BTC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/btc-vs-byte)
- **BTS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bts-vs-byte)
- **BCE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bce-vs-byte)
- **Boe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boe-vs-byte)
- **BMT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bmt-vs-byte)
- **BTU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/btu-vs-byte)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bbyte`, `btye`, `byet`, `bytte`, `byyte`, `ybte`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/byte