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

Smack dab in the middle of the season, two weeks after Buffalo’s bye, is the annual heavyweight matchup against Kansas City. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 15 May 2025

There will be hand-wringing over a 3-3 start that includes four road games and the Broncos returning from London without a bye. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 14 May 2025

Interjection

The Ravens visit the Dolphins, Vikings and Browns from Weeks 9-11, although the first game is on a Thursday and comes with the mini bye week. —Jeff Howe, New York Times, 15 May 2025

The Panthers won’t enjoy a week off until their Week 14 bye in December. —Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 15 May 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