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 Chargers come in at 7–4, coming off a bye week and looking to keep their playoff push alive. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025

The 49ers’ final snap was Mac Jones taking a knee and Kendrick Bourne doing a backflip in the victory formation into the bye week. —Cam Inman, Mercury News, 30 Nov. 2025

Interjection

The Niners, who enter their bye week, have a one-game edge over the Lions in the loss column and an easier remaining schedule. —Austin Mock, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

For one afternoon with temperatures in the 30s and wind approaching 40 miles per hour, turf toe was a distant memory and the 49ers finished the last game before their bye with a 9-4 record and four games to play. —Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025

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