Definition of "bias" []

• A line going diagonally across the grain of fabric: Cut the cloth on the bias. (noun)
• A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment. (noun)
• An unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice. (noun)
• A statistical sampling or testing error caused by systematically favoring some outcomes over others. (noun)
• Sports A weight or irregularity in a ball that causes it to swerve, as in lawn bowling. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The mean difference or bias between the two records during their period of overlap (dT) is used to adjust one record before the two are averaged, leading to identification of this way for combining records as the “bias” method (HL87) or, alternatively, as the “reference station” method Peterson et al., 1998b."
• "_bias_ of the balance; suppose the unloaded balance swings +1.25 and -1; the bias then is (1. 25-1)/2 = +.125 or one-eighth of a division to the right."
• "When designing and proposing new policies designed to address bias, policymakers and politicians must take into account the fact that the word bias itself means very different things to different constituencies."