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# 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#m1)

2) (informal) Short for bisexual: attracted to more than one gender. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#m2)

3) Short for "bye" in some texting (bi or bai — slang). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x1)
- Bisect the angle with your compass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x2)
- She is bilingual: she speaks English and Welsh. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x3)
- Birds are bipeds because they walk on two legs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x4)
- Binary numbers use only 0 and 1. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x5)
- He told his friends he is bi. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/#x6)

### 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bi/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.