How to pronounce bias
American English pronunciation
BY-us
- IPA
- /ˈbaɪ.əs/
- Syllables
- BY · us (2 syllables, stress on the 1st)
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What bias means
A leaning that makes you unfairly favor one side
In a sentence: The judge had a bias toward her own team, which wasn't fair.
Where it comes from: It first meant a slanting line, around 1520. It comes from a French word meaning "sideways."
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Another meaning
A slanting line across the weave of cloth
In a sentence: The dressmaker cut the silk on the bias so the skirt would hang softly.
Where it comes from: It comes from the French biais, meaning sideways or slanting, and no one is sure where that word came from. In English it meant a slanting line by about 1520; the meaning of an unfair leaning came later, from the game of bowls.
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