: the position of a participant in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing
drew a first-round bye

bye

2 of 2

interjection

used as a shortened form of goodbye to express farewell
When he finally spoke, though, and said, "Bye, I'll call you," instead of disappointment she had felt an enormous rush of relief—a feeling, she thinks now, of things falling back into place.Ann Packer
The stag lowered his head and raised it again. He blew out a frosty puff of air, then leaped away, vanishing into the mist. "Bye," Annie said wistfully.Mary Pope Osborne
"Bye, Mom! Bye, Auggie!" I kissed them both quickly and headed toward the door.R. J. Palacio

Examples of bye in a Sentence

Noun She got a bye into the second round of the tennis tournament.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Meanwhile, Milwaukee is once again steamrolling the competition on their way to a bye. Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2026 The races for the byes are too close to predict. Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 22 June 2026
Interjection
The perfect quarterback does not limp to the huddle or chug beers during the bye week. John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026 And with an early bye in Week 5, Fortner — if given the gig in Week 1 — can provide a runway for someone like Hecht or Nick Samac to watch and learn from him. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for bye

Word History

Etymology

Noun

alteration of by entry 2

First Known Use

Noun

1883, in the meaning defined above

Interjection

1618, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bye was in 1618

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bye. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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