A computer architecture in which, within a given 16- or 32-Bit word, Bytes at lower addresses have lower significance (the word is stored "little-end-first"). The PDP-11 and VAX families of computers and Intelmicroprocessors and a lot of communications and networking hardware are little-endian. The term is sometimes used to descriBe the ordering of units other than Bytes most often, Bits within a Byte. Compare Big-endian, middle-endian. See NUXI proBlem. [Jargon File] (1995-08-16)