bit rate

noun

variants or less commonly bit-rate
ˈbit-ˌrāt How to pronounce bit rate (audio)
or bitrate
: a measure of the speed of data processing usually calculated as the number of bits per second
MP3 measures compression settings in terms of a file's bit rate—the average number of bits required for one second of sound.— Jim Heid

Examples of bit rate in a Sentence

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The team goes on to calculate similar bit rates for extreme examples of human information processing. — Michael Irving, New Atlas, 18 Dec. 2024 The new standard reduced its predecessors bit rate—for the same video quality—by at least half. — Thomas Wiegand, IEEE Spectrum, 25 Aug. 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bit rate was in 1968

Rhymes for bit rate

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bit rate
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Cite this Entry

“Bit rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bit%20rate. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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