In graphics display and animation, a programming technique that manipulates blocks of bits in memory that represent the color and other attributes of a rectangular block of pixels forming a screen image. The image described can range in size from a cursor to a cartoon. Such a bit block is moved through a computer’s video RAM as a unit so that its pixels can be rapidly displayed in a desired location on the screen. The bits can also be altered; for example, light and dark portions of an image can be reversed. Successive displays can thus be used to change the appearance of an image or to move it around on the screen. Some computers contain special graphics hardware for manipulating bit blocks on the screen independently of the contents of the rest of the screen. This speeds the animation of small shapes, because a program need not constantly compare and redraw the background around the moving shape. Also called: bitblt. See also sprite.