bit part
5
4.1
- noun
- /bɪt pɑrt/
:
papel pequeño
- His first acting job was a bit part in a local play that only had a few lines.
- play bit parts
Examples
-
"Maybe you can do one of the bit parts.
Fiction book (2001) -
Known by the surnames Prosper and Lemer, Duval had played bit parts in a small theater in the Latin Quarter when Baudelaire first became enraptured with her.
Academic text (1997) -
Take the first bit part that comes along.
-
I got a bit part.
-
Well, we're practically all set except for couple of bit parts.
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Robert, you had a bit part in 'Brookside'.
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The last few years she's been doing bit parts on obscure TV shows, but even those were few and far between.
Fiction book (1999) -
In 1942, he landed a job playing bit parts in low-budget westerns, soon working his way up to better roles.
Academic text (2010) -
Eddie once had a bit part in a musical Western where Lena Horne played a saloon keeper.
Fiction book (2001) -
Joan had danced at the Copacabana, been on Broadway in a musical, "Wish You Were Here," and had a bit part in a movie starring a forgotten humorist named Herb Shriner.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
534
1.0
A part an actor plays in a play or film
3
3.5
A small, less important part in a play, film, or TV show
1
8.8
A person who has a very small part in a play or film, often with no lines
Antonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a very small acting role' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'bit' (a small amount) with 'part' (a role or contribution). This compositional pattern (small + role) is intuitive and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The noun bit part comes from the words bit, a very small piece, and part, a role in a play or film. If an actor has a bit part, they only have a tiny scene or a few lines, so today the phrase means 'a very small role'.