n.
A vertical post, usually one of a pair, set on the deck of a ship and used to secure ropes or cables.
tr.v., bitt·ed, bitt·ing, bitts.
To wind (a cable) around a bitt.
[Perhaps of Dutch or Low German origin, akin to Old Norse biti, crossbeam.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
