16-bit

16-bit means using words containing sixteen bits. This adjective often refers to the number of bits used internally by a computer's CPU. E.g. "The Intel 8086 is a sixteen-bit processor". Its external data bus or address bus[?] may be narrower. The term may also refer to the size of an instruction in the computer's instruction set or to any other item of data.

See also:

• 16-bit application

This article (or an earlier version of it) contains material from FOLDOC, used with permission. Update as needed.