bi

«bi» in Mova's school dictionary: Two or twice, as in bicycle (two wheels), bilingual (two… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

prefix (bi-); adjective, informal short form (bi)

meaning for a pupil

1) (prefix) Two or twice, as in bicycle (two wheels), bilingual (two languages), biannual (twice a year). tree →

2) (informal) Short for bisexual: attracted to more than one gender. tree →

3) Short for "bye" in some texting (bi or bai — slang). tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths and science the prefix helps you guess meanings: bisect (cut into two equal parts), biped (two-footed animal), binary (base two). In everyday talk, "bi" is a short label for bisexual. Phrases: bi-weekly, bi-monthly.

examples

• A bicycle has two wheels. tree →
• Bisect the angle with your compass. tree →
• She is bilingual: she speaks English and Welsh. tree →
• Birds are bipeds because they walk on two legs. tree →
• Binary numbers use only 0 and 1. tree →
• He told his friends he is bi. tree →

note

Trap: bi-weekly and bi-monthly can mean "every two" OR "twice a" — check which. Biannual = twice a year; biennial = every two years. "Bi" alone is informal; not an insult.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «bi» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.