bye

1 of 3

noun (1)

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 3

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

bye

3 of 3

noun (2)

variant spelling of by entry 3, by entry 4, by entry 5

: something of secondary importance : a side issue

by the by

Examples of bye in a Sentence

Noun (1)

She got a bye into the second round of the tennis tournament.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At least for one day, one of the league’s great rivalries returns — with Kansas City remaining undefeated into its early bye. — Pete Sweeney october 1, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026

During the bye, the Dodgers will balance practice and live pitching with rest. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

Interjection

Going from 0–100 has proven challenging for some teams coming off bye weeks, which might negate some of LA's advantage. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026

This is their fourth with a bye — after going through the wild card last year. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

alteration of by entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

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