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In computer architecture, 16-bit is an adjective used to describe integers, memory addresses or other data units that are at most 16 bits (2 octets) wide, or to describe CPU and ALU architectures based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size.
Prominent 16-bit processors include the Intel 8086, Motorola 68000, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Motorola 68000 was 16-bit in that its data buses were 16 bits long; however, it was 32-bit in that the general purpose registers were 32 bits long and most arithmetic instructions supported 32-bit arithmetic, and 24-bit in that addresses were 24 bits long.
A 16-bit integer can store 216 (or 65536) unique values. In an unsigned representation, these values are the integers between 0 and 65535; using two's complement, possible values range from -32768 to 32767.
16-bit processors have been almost entirely supplanted in the personal computer industry, but remain in use in a wide variety of embedded applications.
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