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 field was still 23 teams, and TCU had a bye to the Midest regional semifinals. —Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Mar. 2026

And our first goal is to win the division and be in position to have a bye. —Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026

Interjection

That late-season slump cost the Longhorns a first-round SEC bye in Nashville and also dropped them onto the NCAA Tournament bubble. —Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 15 Mar. 2026

Despite its season-ending struggles, UCF earned a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament. —Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 15 Mar. 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