digit
digit — noun
1. Any of the ten single written symbols — 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 — that
Any of the ten single written symbols — 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 — that are used to write numbers in the everyday decimal system.
Eve wrote down the four-digit code on a small piece of paper.
four-digit code: noun preceded by number-range + digit
The last digit of the price was a 9, so the total came to thirty-nine dollars.
last digit: position + digit
Mira can remember ten-digit phone numbers after hearing them just once.
Minh read the five-digit price tag aloud — 1, 4, 9, 9, 0 — before handing the cashier the money.
The bank asks customers to enter a six-digit personal identification number.
- numeral
more formal and less common in everyday speech; 'numeral' is the symbol itself while 'digit' emphasises its role in a larger number.
- figure
overlaps in meaning but 'figure' can also refer to a whole number or a statistical value, making it less precise.
- character
broader term that includes letters, punctuation, and symbols; not specific to numerical values.
文法句型
digit + [number]
digit of + [noun]
用法筆記
In everyday contexts, the term 'digit' is most commonly used with a number prefix (two-digit, three-digit, etc.) to describe how many symbols a number contains.
常見錯誤
2. A separate, movable part at the end of a person's hand or foot — covering each f
A separate, movable part at the end of a person's hand or foot — covering each finger, the thumb, and all of the toes.
The doctor carefully examined each digit on the patient's left hand.
digit on + body part: prepositional structure specifying location
Yuki accidentally caught her digit in the car door and let out a sharp cry.
Primates have five digits on each limb, including an opposable thumb.
A fossil of the ancient reptile showed three long digits with sharp claws.
The gymnast's digits are unusually flexible, allowing her to grip the bar firmly.
文法句型
[number] + digits
digit on + [body part]
用法筆記
This sense is common in medical, biological, and forensic contexts. In everyday conversation, speakers almost always use the specific words 'finger', 'thumb', or 'toe' instead of 'digit'.
常見錯誤
3. A single symbol used to represent a numerical value in a counting system that is
A single symbol used to represent a numerical value in a counting system that is not based on ten, such as the binary system (using only 0 and 1) or the hexadecimal system (using 0 through 9 and A through F).
Élise traced the computer error back to a single wrong binary digit in the memory chip.
binary digit: specific numeral-system prefix + digit
Devika learned that hexadecimal uses sixteen digits, including the letters A through F.
Obi showed his younger brother that photos on their phone were stored as binary digits.
Lakshmi read the octal digit 7 on the server log, which told her the file's permission level.
Imran checked the hexadecimal output and noticed that the third digit was an F.
- bit
a binary digit specifically; does not apply to other numeral systems such as octal or hexadecimal.
- symbol
general term for any character representing a value; less precise than 'digit' because it includes non-numerical characters.
- place
refers to the position of a digit within a number rather than the digit itself.
文法句型
[base-name] + digit
digit in + [system]
用法筆記
In computing contexts, the number of possible values per digit is determined by the system's base: binary digits have 2 values, octal digits have 8, and hexadecimal digits have 16.