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

Whereas the Power Four winners receive opening-round byes, the Group of Five participant will play a road game, likely against the No. 5 seed. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2024

The top-two seeds (Latvia and one of Serbia, Netherlands or Lithuania) will receive an automatic bye to advance to the 3×3 semifinals. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 2 Aug. 2024

Interjection

But those times have gone the way of ankle socks and ’NSYNC—bye, bye, bye, that is—and in their place is a beauty world where anything goes. —Sophia Panych, Allure, 9 Aug. 2024

The Kings secured the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs. —Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 17 July 2024

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