byte

Sufficient computer memory to store a single character of data, such as a letter of the alphabet. The character is stored in the byte of memory as a pattern of bits (binary digits), using a code such as ASCII. A byte usually contains eight bits – for example, the capital letter F can be stored as the bit pattern 01000110.

A single byte can specify 256 values, such as the decimal numbers from 0 to 255; in the case of a single-byte pixel (picture element), it can specify 256 different colours. Three bytes (24 bits) can specify 16,777,216 values. Computer memory size is measured in kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,024 kilobytes), or gigabytes (1,024 megabytes).