plural byes
ˈbīz 
: the position of a participant in a tournament who advances to the next round without playing
drew a first-round bye
—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
Ann PackerThe 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
Mary Pope Osborne"Bye, Mom! Bye, Auggie!" I kissed them both quickly and headed toward the door.—R. J. Palacio
R. J. PalacioExamples of bye in a Sentence
Noun
She got a bye into the second round of the tennis tournament.
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
October football is almost here, with the first week of byes, another Sunday morning game from the British Isles, both conferences having a single undefeated leader, four teams winless and a lot of lingering questions about myths versus realities as we near the middle third of the season.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2025
Michigan State football's schedule is going to get a lot tougher after the bye.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bye
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Noun
Johnson and the 2-2 Bears will take this positive momentum into a bye week before returning to action with a matchup against the Washington Commanders in Week 6.
—Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
October football is almost here, with the first week of byes, another Sunday morning game from the British Isles, both conferences having a single undefeated leader, four teams winless and a lot of lingering questions about myths versus realities as we near the middle third of the season.
—Hannah Vanbiber, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Interjection
While the score was lopsided, the Tigers still have plenty to work on before Alabama comes to town after next week’s bye.
—Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2025
Michigan State football's schedule is going to get a lot tougher after the bye.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bye
Cite this Entry
“Bye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bye. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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