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Refers to the size of the internal registers of the CPUs used in the early days of personal computers and gaming consoles. It does not refer solely to NES or any single computer. Other examples of 8-bit CPUs included:

TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A
Commodore PET
VIC 20
Commodore 64
Apple
I learned how to code on my TI-99/4a. 8-bit forever!
8-bit by ogreesh April 27, 2005
The best console era ever,
the NES dominated all and many great games were created like:

- Super Mario Bros. 1
- Super Mario Bros. 3
- Mega Man 2
- Mega Man 3
- Castlevania 1-3
- Final Fantasy I - III
- Zelda I + II

etc.

At one time, nintendo had to take all NES back because of problems with overheating!
Everyone had an NES in the 80s.

The most popular problem was that the cartridges got dusty and you had to BLOW inside the NES and cartridge to make it work again.

NES roced.
Bari :"The NES changed my life,now I love videogames more than anything"

Renke:"Dude, let me blow into the cartridge, I want to play World Cup Soccer!""
8-bit by Bari April 24, 2005
8 binary numbers (ie. 10110101, which is equal to the decimal 181) that form 1 bit. During the late 1970's up through the mid-late 1980's, most commercial CPU's could only count 8-bit numbers, ranging from 0-255.

Somehow, people only tend to think of video games when refering to 8-bit things, which it completely innacurate. Many computer systems, as well as video games, were concidered "8-bit."

8-bit processors were eventually replaced by more powerful and faster 16-bit CPU's such as IBM's 8080 line and Motorola's 68000.
Computers: Atari x00 series, Commodore series (PET 16, C-64, C-128, etc.), Apple series, and other similar systems that used the 6502, 6800, or Z-80 processors and their varients.

Game systems: Atari 2600 and 5200, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo's Gameboy, Sega Genesis, Colecovision, etc.
8-bit by ataricom April 28, 2005
Sub-genre of electronic music; Created from modified 8-bit consoles (NES, Atari, Sega Master System, etc.) and cartridges.
Listening to 8-bit takes me back to the good ol' days when controlers were the least ergonomic part of the game system
8-bit by Insane Milkman April 23, 2005
The number of bits that these classic, popular 1980's video game consoles had:

NES
Sega Master System
Atari 2600
ColecoVision
Sega Game Gear
Anyone who thinks the term "8-bit" only applies to the NES is what you would call a noob.
8-Bit by Alex Mama April 21, 2005
the era of gaming where computers used 8-bit methods of producing the game programing and 8-bit systems were the most up to date
The 8-bit era was during the late 1980s and introduced better animation to games.
More from Urban Dictionary

square grouper

Nickname given to bales of marijuana thrown overboard or out of airplanes. Origin is reportedly from members of the US Coast Guard in the area of Southern Florida.
"Base we've got some square groupers floating outside of Miami harbor."
square grouper by slipsheet November 6, 2004
Word of the Day on October 7, 2026
A girl who does ballet and only talks about ballet. Her schedule is filled with dance classes which does not allow her to do any other activity.
"Hey, do you know that girl Sally?"

"Yeah, she's kind of annoying. All she ever talks about it ballet."

"Wow, what a Bunhead."

"Hey Sally, you want to hang out this weekend?"
"I can't, I have dance."
"You're such a Bunhead."

"Yeah... I know."
Bunhead by Jen00 October 24, 2014
Word of the Day on October 6, 2026

trucker's tan 

A sunburn or suntan focused on the left arm. It is caused by the left side of the body being the only half that gets exposed to sunlight while driving. Presumably, it would be located on the right side of the body in countries where they drive on the left side of the road.
I had a trucker's tan after driving for 10 straight hours on a sunny day.
Word of the Day on October 5, 2026
The phenomenon where adults salivate at children's toys
Every time I walk into the toy aisle, I catch myself kidulting over the latest action figures and LEGO sets!
kidulting by Emotional Cruiser October 12, 2025
Word of the Day on October 4, 2026
British slang for a scientist or technical expert, esp . when the speaker is not certain of the expert’s specific field of study. Not necessarily derogatory, but typically used by persons without a technical background. In the US, the equivalent would be “egghead”, “squint”, or “geek.”

Origin of the word is unknown. Started sometime in World War 2. Given the typical evolution of British slang, could easily have started because what these experts did was confusing or “baffling” to the common person.
According to the boffins downstairs, the murderer used a serrated blade.
Boffin by Agnon February 11, 2023
Word of the Day on October 3, 2026

Pee Calculus

When you have to pee in a movie but don’t want to miss anything, and must do the following mental equation: will the amount I have to pee cause enough discomfort to diminish my attention capacity for the remainder of the movie to an extent which is greater than the amount of the movie I would miss by making a mad dash to the restroom.
I saw Satantango last night, wonderful film but by the 5th hour I had to start doing pee calculus.
Pee Calculus by anorlondo October 1, 2026
Word of the Day on October 2, 2026
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