Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense biases, present participle biasing, past tense, past participle biased
1. variable noun
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
Bias against women permeates every level of the judicial system.
There were fierce attacks on the BBC for alleged political bias.
Synonyms: prejudice, leaning, bent, tendency More Synonyms of bias
2. variable noun
Bias is a concern with or interest in one thing more than others.
The Department has a strong bias towards neuroscience.
3. verb
To bias someone means to influence them in favour of a particular choice.
We mustn't allow it to bias our teaching. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: influence, colour, weight, prejudice More Synonyms of bias
4.
See on the bias
More Synonyms of bias
bias in British English
(ˈbaɪəs)
noun
1.
mental tendency or inclination, esp an irrational preference or prejudice
2.
a diagonal line or cut across the weave of a fabric
3. electronics
the voltage applied to an electronic device or system to establish suitable working conditions
4. bowling
a.
a bulge or weight inside one side of a bowl
b.
the curved course of such a bowl on the green
5. statistics
a.
an extraneous latent influence on, unrecognized conflated variable in, or selectivity in a sample which influences its distribution and so renders it unable to reflect the desired population parameters
b.
if T is an estimator of the parameter θ, the expected value of (T–θ)
6.
an inaudible high-frequency signal used to improve the quality of a tape recording
adjective
7.
slanting obliquely; diagonal
a bias fold
adverb
8.
obliquely; diagonally
verbWord forms: -ases, -asing, -ased, -asses, -assing or -assed(transitive)
9. (usually passive)
to cause to have a bias; prejudice; influence
Derived forms
biased (ˈbiased) or biassed (ˈbiassed)
adjective
Word origin
C16: from Old French biais, from Old Provençal, perhaps ultimately from Greek epikarsios oblique
bias in American English
(ˈbaɪəs)
nounWord forms: pluralˈbiases
1.
a line, cut or sewn diagonally across the weave of cloth, as in making seams, binding tape, etc.
2.
a mental leaning or inclination; partiality; bent
3. Bowling
a.
the bulge in the side of the ball (the bowl) that causes it to roll in a curve
b.
this curve or tendency to curve
c.
the force causing this
4. Electronics
a high-frequency signal or tone added to a tape during the recording process so as to reduce distortion and increase frequency response
5. Radio
the fixed voltage applied to an electrode circuit to control the mode of operation, usually measured with the cathode voltage as reference
6. Statistics
any systematic error contributing to the difference between statistical values in a population and a sample drawn from it
adjective
7.
slanting; diagonal
adverb
8.
diagonally
9. Obsolete
awry
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈbiased or ˈbiassed, ˈbiasing or ˈbiassing
10.
to cause to have a bias; influence; prejudice
11. Radio
to apply a bias to (an electrode)
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈprejudice
Idioms:
on the bias
Word origin
MFr biais, a slope, slant < OFr < OProv < ?
COBUILD Collocations
bias
left-wing bias
liberal bias
perceived bias
racial bias
unconscious bias
Examples of 'bias' in a sentence
bias
We propose to remove this bias in favour of settlement.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The report accuses the ombudsman of ignoring evidence, dragging out investigations for years and being biased in favour of the NHS.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
And these are only a few of many irrational biases.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We all have implicit or unconscious biases that impact our behavior.
Christianity Today (2000)
There is no need to show actual bias.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They should have kept their political bias to themselves.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There should be a bias in favour of the real underdog.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Why should they when a biased legal system will reward their idleness?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In the balance of nature there must be an opposite bias.
Dyson, Freeman Infinite in All Directions (1989)
School leaders also have a responsibility to tackle unconscious bias where it creeps in.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Such contact is forbidden as it could be seen as showing bias toward a particular party.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Some former staffers also said that political bias played a role in story selection.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now it turns out to be grotesquely biased in favour of single mums.
The Sun (2007)
There is a serious bias in the system against such relationships.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Training for unconscious gender bias may also be required for university councils and leaders who make senior appointments.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
And where does the dividing line lie between racial bias and crude, alcoholic thuggery?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Cutting a continuous bias strip This is a quick way of cutting a long length of bias strip.
Churchill, Jane (ed.) Collins Complete Books of Soft Furnishings (1993)
Nearly all of them were cut on the bias, so that the fabric skimmed the body rather than clinging to it.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The drive against political correctness includes plans to revise the curriculum for primary and secondary pupils to correct a perceived bias towards left-wing thinking.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
WE must be biased and only see the good England do.
The Sun (2006)
What with the bias cutting wastage, this comes out pricey by anyone's measure.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Indeed, science is a system of knowledge whose most important feature is that it seeks to control the influence of various biases on the conduct of research.
Harris, Marvin Cultural Anthropology (1995)
It is one of those biases, all the rage in academic circles right now, that explain many of the eccentricities of human behaviour.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In other languages
bias
British English: bias NOUN
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
...his desire to avoid the appearance of bias in favour of one candidate or another.
American English: bias
Brazilian Portuguese: parcialidade
Chinese: 偏见
European Spanish: inclinación
French: parti pris
German: Vorliebe
Italian: preferenza
Japanese: ひいき
Korean: 편견
European Portuguese: parcialidade
Latin American Spanish: inclinación
British English: bias VERB
To bias someone means to influence them in favour of a particular choice.
We mustn't allow it to bias our teaching.
American English: bias
Brazilian Portuguese: influenciar
Chinese: 使...有偏见
European Spanish: afectar
French: influencer
German: beeinflussen
Italian: condizionare
Japanese: ひいきする
Korean: 편견을 갖게 하다
European Portuguese: influenciar
Latin American Spanish: afectar
All related terms of 'bias'
grid bias
the fixed voltage applied between the control grid and cathode of a valve
class bias
prejudicial treatment or perception based on social class
gender bias
prejudice based on gender
racial bias
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
bias binding
a strip of material cut on the bias for extra stretch and often doubled , used for binding hems , interfacings , etc, or for decoration
forward bias
a voltage applied to a circuit or device, esp a semiconductor device, in the direction that produces the larger current
liberal bias
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
controller bias
In a control loop , the controller bias is a constant amount added to or subtracted from the action that a controller would normally take with a particular gain .
on the bias
A dress or skirt that is cut on the bias or that is bias-cut has been cut diagonally across the material so that it hangs down in a particular way.
perceived bias
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
bias (ply) tire
a motor vehicle tire having a foundation of plies of rubberized cords in a crisscross pattern of lines diagonal to the center line of the tread
left-wing bias
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
unconscious bias
Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.
Chinese translation of 'bias'
bias
(ˈbaɪəs)
n
(u) (= prejudice) 成见(見) (chéngjiàn)
(c) (= preference) 偏向 (piānxiàng)
1 (noun)
Definition
mental tendency, esp. prejudice
There were fierce attacks on the BBC for alleged political bias.
Synonyms
prejudice
a victim of racial prejudice
leaning
I always had a leaning towards sport.
bent
a bent for natural history
tendency
He has a tendency towards snobbery.
inclination
She set out to follow her artistic inclinations.
penchant
She had a penchant for playing jokes on people.
intolerance
an act of religious intolerance
bigotry
He deplored religious bigotry.
propensity
She hadn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.
favouritism
Accusations of political favouritism abound.
predisposition
the predisposition to behave in a certain way
nepotism
They protested at what they described as nepotism and corruption in the government.
unfairness
predilection
his predilection for expensive whisky
proclivity (formal)
Los Angeles's unique proclivity for experimental arty endeavour
partiality
The judge was accused of partiality.
narrow-mindedness
proneness
He has a proneness to making unfortunate remarks.
one-sidedness
Opposites
equity
,
equality
,
fairness
,
neutrality
,
objectivity
,
impartiality
,
open-mindedness
2 (noun)
Definition
a diagonal cut across the weave of a fabric
The fabric, cut on the bias, hangs as light as a cobweb.
Synonyms
slant
They give a slant to every single news item that's put on the air.
cross
angle
He was considering the idea from all angles.
diagonal line
(verb)
Definition
to cause to have a bias
We mustn't allow it to bias our teaching.
Synonyms
influence
The conference influenced us to launch the campaign.
colour
The attitude of parents colours the way their children behave.
weight
The electoral law is still heavily weighted in favour of the ruling party.
prejudice
I think your upbringing has prejudiced you.
distort
The media distorts reality.
sway
Don't ever be swayed by fashion.
warp
Rainwater had warped the door's timber.
slant
The coverage was deliberately slanted to make the home team look good.
predispose
Some factors predispose certain individuals to criminal behaviour.