bye

1 of 3

noun (1)

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Missouri has a bye week after visiting Oxford for just the third time in program history. Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 23 Aug. 2026 Fortunately, there’s a bye week between the trips to Bloomington and Los Angeles. Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Interjection
Speaking of Ohtani, his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, have recovered from a lengthy losing streak to put themselves in position to secure a first round bye. Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 The remaining four will give the winner a one-round bye directly to the quarterfinals. Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bye

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of bye was in 1618

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Cite this Entry

“Bye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bye. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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