bye

1 of 3

noun (1)

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 3

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

bye

3 of 3

noun (2)

variant spelling of by entry 3, by entry 4, by entry 5

: something of secondary importance : a side issue

by the by

Examples of bye in a Sentence

Noun (1)

She got a bye into the second round of the tennis tournament.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And while the bye comes a bit earlier than many would’ve liked, the Dolphins are 0-5. — Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

Coming off an impressive win over the Lions and a bye week, the Panthers look to carry that momentum into their matchup with the Eagles. — Neil Nakahodo, Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026

Interjection

Ohio State does have a bye next week, before a trip to USC in late October. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

That game in Week 4, before the Chiefs’ Week 5 bye, also marked the first time Araiza had faked a punt as a pro football player. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

alteration of by entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

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