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# bias

noun (a bias, biases; also uncountable); verb (bias, biases, biased, biasing)

«bias» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Bias is an unfair way of favouring one person, side or idea over others, often without good reason: a referee with a bias towards one team. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#m1)
2. To bias someone or something is to make them unfair or one-sided; «biased» means unfair and one-sided. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#m2)
3. In maths and science, bias is when results are pushed in one direction by the way you test or collect data, so they are not fair or accurate. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#m3)
4. In sewing, cutting cloth «on the bias» means cutting diagonally across the threads. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#m4)
5. In bowls (lawn bowls), the bias is the weight that makes the ball curve. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#m5)

### In the lessons

In media and citizenship lessons pupils learn to spot bias in news, adverts and websites: who wrote it, what side they want you to take, and what is left out. In science and maths, a fair test avoids bias; a survey asking only your friends is biased. In computing lessons, AI can show bias if it learns from unfair examples. Phrases: biased towards, biased against, without bias, unconscious bias, bias in a survey.

### Examples

- The referee was accused of bias towards the home team. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x1)
- This website is biased because it only shows one side. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x2)
- Ask lots of different people so your survey is not biased. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x3)
- A coin that lands on heads too often may have a bias. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x4)
- Try to read the news without bias. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x5)
- Everyone has some bias, so it helps to check other views. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x6)
- The advert biased people towards buying the sweets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x7)
- AI can copy the bias in the data it learns from. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/#x8)

### Note

Noun: countable or uncountable (a bias, biases; some bias). Adjective: biased (spelt with one s in most places; «biassed» is rare). Pronounced «BY-us». «Biased towards» means favouring; «biased against» means unfair against. In maths: a biased dice or coin does not give each result an equal chance, so probabilities like one half or one sixth do not apply.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bias» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bias/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bias» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bias.html) on Mova free.