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 league’s top teams in the standings going into the tournament get first-round byes. —Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026

Duarte had a bye and three pins to earn Upper Weight MVP honors. —Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026

Interjection

Huntington Beach also earned a first-round bye and home field advantage for the tournament, which begins Thursday. —Dan Albano, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026

Shaheed’s high-speed bursts were crucial to the Seahawks winning the NFC’s top seed, earning a first-round bye and homefield advantage. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 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