Definition

1. Noun:
   • A finger or toe: In humans and other vertebrates, a digit is one of the terminal divisions of a limb, such as a finger or thumb on the hand, or a toe on the foot.
   • A linear unit of measurement: Historically, a digit referred to a unit of length based on the width of a finger, approximately 3/4 of an inch.
   • A single symbol in a numeral system: In mathematics and computing, a digit is any of the symbols from 0 to 9 used to represent numbers in the decimal system, or the symbols (e.g., 0 and 1) used in other bases like binary.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Anatomy):
  • Humans typically have five digits on each hand.
  • The injury affected the digit on his left foot.
• Noun (Measurement):
  • The ancient manuscript described a distance of ten digits.
• Noun (Numeral):
  • The number 583 is a three-digit number.
  • In binary code, information is stored as a sequence of digits, 0s and 1s.

Advanced Usage

• "Check digit": A digit added to a number for error detection, often used in identification numbers like credit cards.
  • The last digit of your account number is a check digit used for verification.
• "Significant digit": A digit in a number that carries meaning contributing to its precision.
  • When rounding to two significant digits, 3.14159 becomes 3.1.

Variants and Related Words

• Digital (adj): Relating to or using digits, especially binary digits in computing (e.g., ); or relating to fingers or toes (e.g., ).
• Digitize (verb): To convert analog information into a digital (numerical) format.
  • The library plans to digitize its entire collection of historical films.

Synonyms

• Finger/Toe (for the anatomical sense).
• Numeral (for the mathematical symbol sense).
• Figure (for the mathematical symbol sense, as in "a single figure").

Related Phrases

• "Double-digit": Referring to a number from 10 to 99.
  • The company reported double-digit growth this quarter.
• "Digit sum": The sum of all the digits in a number.
  • The digit sum of 123 is 6 (1+2+3).

Noun

1. a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
2. the length of breadth of a finger used as a linear measure
3. one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration
   • 0 and 1 are digits