bye

1 of 2

noun

ˈbī 

plural byes ˈbīz 

: 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

Noun

The first and second-place teams get first-round byes. —Lou Ponsi, Oc Register, 29 Jan. 2026

Faddah received a bye into the semis due to her eight-game winning streak, the second best of Season 41, and faced off against fellow champions Steven Olson and TJ Fisher. —Jacob Wilt, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 28 Jan. 2026

Interjection

The Seahawks used a first-round bye to rest, heal and prepare, and then routed the 49ers in a divisional-round game before beating the Rams, 31-27, to advance to the Super Bowl. —Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2026

But this could be the biggest matchup in the prelims, if a quarterfinal bye is at stake. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026

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

Phrases Containing bye

• bye-bye
• bye-election
• by the bye
• go bye-bye
• go bye-byes
• good-bye

Rhymes for bye

• ai
• aye
• bae
• bi
• buy
• by
• chai
• chi
• cry
• die
• dry
• dye