bias

1 of 4

noun

bi·​as ˈbī-əs 

1

a

: an inclination of temperament or outlook

especially : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : prejudice

an ideological bias

Research suggests that teachers' biases may contribute to disparities in academic achievement …

—Hannah Nwoko

b

: an instance of such prejudice

There is a bias among economists … that only work resulting in a physical output is productive and that services, which are by their nature ephemeral, are unproductive.

—Eli Ginzberg

c

: bent, tendency

I went to one of the first art-oriented high schools in England. … So there was a strong bias toward art from when I was quite young.

—David Bowie, quoted in Off the Record

d(1)

: deviation of the expected value of a statistical estimate from the quantity it estimates

(2)

: systematic error introduced into sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging one outcome or answer over others

… researchers admitted this could reflect a sampling bias.

—Augustus Bambridge-Sutton

2

: a line diagonal to the grain of a fabric

especially : a line at a 45 degree angle to the selvage often utilized in the cutting of garments for smoother fit

3

a

: a peculiarity in the shape of a bowl that causes it to swerve when rolled on the green in lawn bowling

b

: the tendency of a bowl to swerve

also : the impulse causing this tendency

… roll your … balls with a bias so they travel along a curved path …

—Daniel Brenner

c

: the swerve of the bowl

4

a

: a voltage applied to a device (such as a transistor control electrode) to establish a reference level for operation

b

: a high-frequency voltage combined with an audio signal to reduce distortion in tape recording

bias

2 of 4

verb

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

transitive verb

1

: to give a settled and often prejudiced outlook to

his background biases him against foreigners

Those statements, prosecutors argue, could intimidate jurors or bias the pool of prospective jurors.

—Graham Underwood

2

: to apply a slight negative or positive voltage to (something, such as a transistor)

bias

3 of 4

adjective

: diagonal, slanting

—used chiefly of fabrics and their cut

biasness noun

bias

4 of 4

adverb

1

: diagonally

cut cloth bias

2

obsolete : awry

Phrases

on the bias

1

: diagonally to the grain of a fabric

cut the cloth on the bias

… long, flowing dresses, folded, pleated, cut on the bias and draped.

—Linda Gillan Griffin

2

: at an angle : diagonally to the fibers of something

Slice the roast against the grain and on the bias.

—William Porter

Did you know?

Bias vs. Biased

In recent years, we have seen more evidence of the adjectival bias in constructions like “a bias news program” instead of the more usual “a biased news program.” The reason is likely because of aural confusion: the -ed of biased may be filtered out by hearers, which means that bias and biased can sound similar in the context of normal speech. They are not interchangeable, however. The adjective that means “exhibited or characterized by an unreasoned judgment” is biased (“a biased news story”). There is an adjective bias, but it means “diagonal” and is used only of fabrics (“a bias cut across the fabric”).

Synonyms of bias

Noun

• prejudice
• tendency
• partiality
• partisanship
• tendentiousness

Verb

• turn
• prejudice

Adverb

• diagonally
• on the bias
• on the diagonal

Choose the Right Synonym for bias

Noun

predilection, prepossession, prejudice, bias mean an attitude of mind that predisposes one to favor something.

predilection implies a strong liking deriving from one's temperament or experience.

a predilection for travel

prepossession suggests a fixed conception likely to preclude objective judgment of anything counter to it.

a prepossession against technology

prejudice usually implies an unfavorable prepossession and connotes a feeling rooted in suspicion, fear, or intolerance.

a mindless prejudice against the unfamiliar

bias implies an unreasoned and unfair distortion of judgment in favor of or against a person or thing.

a strong bias toward the plaintiff

Verb

incline, bias, dispose, predispose mean to influence one to have or take an attitude toward something.

incline implies a tendency to favor one of two or more actions or conclusions.

I incline to agree

bias suggests a settled and predictable leaning in one direction and connotes unfair prejudice.

the experience biased him against foreigners

dispose suggests an affecting of one's mood or temper so as to incline one toward something.

her nature disposes her to trust others

predispose implies the operation of a disposing influence well in advance of the opportunity to manifest itself.

does fictional violence predispose them to accept real violence?

Examples of bias in a Sentence

Noun

… members of the opinion media will cherry-pick moments from the debate that support their own ideological biases. —Michelle Cottle, New Republic, 16 Oct. 2000

Blatant racial and gender discrimination is just about over, creating a sociological space in which to worry about subtler forms of bias. —Gregg Easterbrook, New Republic, 20 Dec. 1999

Like the printing press before it, the computer has a powerful bias toward amplifying personal autonomy and individual problem-solving. —Katha Pollitt, Nation, 9 Oct. 1995

He showed a bias toward a few workers in particular.

Do they have a bias against women?

The company was accused of racial bias.

The decision was made without bias.

She showed no bias toward older clients.

a student with a strong bias towards the arts

Verb

Unfortunately, his convictions are not clearly and logically developed; they mostly lurk in the background biasing his reporting. He does not always give the reader a fair chance to follow the arguments of the actors—even those with whom he ardently agrees. —Leonard Silk, New York Times Book Review, 24 Feb. 1980

I don't want to bias you against the movie, but I thought the book was much better.

The circumstances could bias the results of the survey.

Adverb

made of fabric cut bias

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Reducing bias and barriers to participation opens the door for innovation. —Suzanne Wright, USA Today, 29 Oct. 2025

Leaders with high levels of metacognition are much less vulnerable to cognitive biases, which are really ruling the business world right now. —Fortune Editors, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025

Verb

Joy Buolamwini, a computer scientist at MIT Media Lab, has written extensively on the dangers of inaccurate and racially biased facial recognition systems. —Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025

Sanger has argued that entries related to issues like crime and climate change on Wikipedia are not politically neutral and called for specific reforms to the site, fuelling criticisms from the right that the site is biased towards the left. —Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Verb, Adjective, and Adverb

Middle French biais

First Known Use

Noun

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1551, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

circa 1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bias

• bias-belted tire
• bias crime
• bias-ply tire
• bias tape
• implicit bias
• self-selection bias

Rhymes for bias

• dryas
• laius
• lyase
• mayas
• pious
• playas
• prius
• censorious
• jeremias
• zacharias
• elias
• impious

Kids Definition

bias

1 of 2 noun

bi·​as ˈbī-əs 

1

: a line diagonal to the grain of a fabric

2

: an attitude that always favors one way of feeling or acting over any other : prejudice

3

: a voltage applied to a device (as a transistor control electrode) to establish a reference level for operation

bias

2 of 2 verb

biased or biassed; biasing or biassing

: to give a prejudiced outlook to

Legal Definition

bias

noun

bi·​as ˈbī-əs 

: a personal and often unreasoned judgment for or against one side in a dispute : prejudice

a judge disqualified because of bias