- twice; for a second time (used in musical scores to indicate a part to be repeated)
- encore! again!
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bis1
(bis),USA pronunciation adv.
bis2 (bis),USA pronunciation n.
B.I.S.,
- twice.
- again (used interjectionally as an enthusiastic call for the repetition of a musical performance).
- Latin; Old Latin duis twice
- Italian
- 1810–20
bis2 (bis),USA pronunciation n.
- Clothinga sheer, often embroidered linen, used in the manufacture of altar cloths.
- Latin byssus byssus
- Middle English 1350–1400
B.I.S.,
- Bank for International Settlements.
- British Information Services.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bis /bɪs/ adv
bi /baɪ/USA pronunciation
adj., n. [countable], pl.
bi-,1 prefix.
bi-2,
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Slang Termsbis, bi's. Slang. bisexual.
bi-,1 prefix.
- bi- comes from Latin, where it has the meaning "twice, two.'' This meaning is found in such words as: bicentennial, biennial, bigamy, bilateral, binoculars, bipartisan, biped, bisect, biweekly.
- In some words, esp. words referring to time periods, the prefix bi- has two meanings: "twice a + ~'' and "every two + ~-s''. Thus, biannual means both "twice a year'' and "every two years.'' Be careful; check many of these words.
bi-2,
bi
(bī),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. bis, bi's.
BI ,pl. BI's.
Bi ,[Symbol, Chem.]
bi-1 ,
bi-2 ,
- Slang Termsbisexual.
- by shortening
BI ,pl. BI's.
- built-in.
Bi ,[Symbol, Chem.]
- Chemistrybismuth.
bi-1 ,
- a combining form meaning "twice,'' "two,'' used in the formation of compound words:bifacial; bifarious.Cf. bin-.
- Latin, combining form of bis; see twice
- All words except biennial referring to periods of time and prefixed by bi-1 are potentially ambiguous. Since bi- can be taken to mean either "twice each'' or "every two,'' a word like biweekly can be understood as "twice each week'' or "every two weeks.'' To avoid confusion, it is better to use the prefix semi- to mean "twice each'' (semiannual; semimonthly; semiweekly) or the phrase twice a or twice each (twice a month; twice a week; twice each year), and for the other sense to use the phrase every two (every two months; every two weeks; every two years).
bi-2 ,
- var. of bio-, esp. before a vowel:biopsy.
'bis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
alibi
- bezel
- bi-
- bice
- bijou
- biscuit
- bistort
- dhobi
- oribi
- rabbi
- Wahhabi
- zombie
- alpine bistort
- bay antler
- BCNU
- B.D.S.
- beaten biscuit
- bi
- bid
- bigarreau
- biscay green
- Biscayne Bay
- biscuit bread
- biscuit tortoni
- biscuit ware
- bismanol
- Bismarck Archipelago
- Bismarck herring
- bismuth
- bismuth chromate
- bismuthinite
- bismuth oxychloride
- bissextus
- bisso
- bister
- bistre
- dis
- dog biscuit
- drop biscuit
- Galibi
- Maghrebi
- Panjabi
- pilot biscuit
- prepubis
- Punjabi
- ratafia biscuit
- tabi
- tea biscuit
- water biscuit
- wood ibis
