Bias

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·adj Cut slanting or diagonally, as cloth.

II. Bias ·adj Inclined to one side; swelled on one side.

III. Bias ·noun A slant; a diagonal; as, to cut cloth on the bias.

IV. Bias ·adv In a slanting manner; crosswise; obliquely; diagonally; as, to cut cloth bias.

V. Bias ·noun A wedge-shaped piece of cloth taken out of a garment (as the waist of a dress) to diminish its circumference.

VI. Bias ·noun A leaning of the mind; propensity or prepossession toward an object or view, not leaving the mind indifferent; bent; inclination.

VII. Bias ·noun A weight on the side of the ball used in the game of bowls, or a tendency imparted to the ball, which turns it from a straight line.

VIII. Bias ·vt To incline to one side; to give a particular direction to; to Influence; to Prejudice; to Prepossess.