plural byes
ˈbīz 
: the position of a participant in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing
drew a first-round bye
Examples of by in a Sentence
Noun (2)
She got a bye into the second round of the tennis tournament.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The only image scientists have of it is a blurry photo taken in 1989 by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft during its brief fly-by of Neptune.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Mater Dei Catholic has a bye in the first round.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 1 June 2026
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Noun
While many automakers go out of their way to make their hybrid offerings more visually distinctive, passers-by would be hard-pressed to tell whether the Carnival is a gasoline or a gasoline-electric model.
—Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The only image scientists have of it is a blurry photo taken in 1989 by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft during its brief fly-by of Neptune.
—Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
Noun
Even if Toronto can’t compete for the AL East and a bye, this version of the team is built well for a Wild Card Series.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Mater Dei Catholic has a bye in the first round.
—Dan Albano, Oc Register, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for by
Cite this Entry
“By.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/by. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
by
1 of 3 preposition
(ˈ)bī
especially before consonants bə
1
: close to : near
by the sea
2
a
: so as to go along or through
by a different route
enter by the door
b
: past entry 2 sense 2
went right by them
4
: through the means or agency of
by force
5
: according to sense 1
by the rules
called by a different name
6
: with respect to
a doctor by profession
7
: to or in the amount or length of
win by a nose
sold by the pound
8
: in a series of
walk two by two
9
—used as a function word in multiplication and division and in measurements
divide 6 by 2
a room 15 feet by 20 feet
10
: in the opinion of
it's fine by me
by
2 of 3 adverb1
a
: close at hand : near
standing by
b
: at or to another's home
stop by for a chat
2
: past entry 4
cars went by
3
: aside entry 1 sense 2
putting some money by
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