noun

bias

BEYE-uhs

noun

An unfair leaning toward or against something, often without a person even realizing it.

"The judge was accused of bias toward the defendant's family."

"Everyone has some bias, which is why blind reviews exist."

A diagonal direction across woven fabric, cut at 45 degrees to the straight threads.

"The skirt was cut on the bias so it would drape and flow."

In statistics, a systematic error that skews a measurement or estimate away from the true value.

"The survey had a sampling bias because it only called landlines."

verb

To unfairly influence someone or something in a particular direction.

"The leading question was designed to bias the witness's answer."

How to Use Bias

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA slant or lean toward one side — literally in fabric or a bowling ball, figuratively in judgment or opinion.

Common mistake

Bias doesn't always mean deliberate prejudice — it can be an unconscious or purely statistical skew.

Common pairings

unconscious bias cut on the bias bias toward something sampling bias

Word Forms

more bias comparative, biased past tense, biassed past tense, biases plural, biasses plural, Biases plural, biases singular, biasses singular, most bias superlative

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The judge was accused of _____ toward the defendant's family.

Etymology

From Middle French biais, "sideways" or "at a slant," first used in English around 1520 for an oblique line, then borrowed into the game of bowls for a ball's curving path — which gave us the figurative "leaning" sense.

Rhymes for bias

alias Elias Arias Tobias gracias Mathias Matthias Iglesias

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