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

At sections, Collins got a bye in the quarterfinals, then rolled in his next two matches, winning by fall in the semifinals and then beating Saitaro Kong of Apple Valley by technical fall (15-0) in the title match. —Tom Schardin, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

The top two seeds receive a double bye into the semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds will get first-round byes into the quarters. —Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2025

Interjection

But that was no advantage against a defense that regrouped after the Week 5 bye and became a unit that can make a Super Bowl opponent look like a practice squad. —Matt Breen The Philadelphia Inquirer, arkansasonline.com, 11 Feb. 2025

The Broncos will now enjoy their second bye of the season. —Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 8 Feb. 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