bye

1 of 2

noun

plural byes ˈbīz How to pronounce bye (audio)
: 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
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
Italy received a bye to the 2025 Davis Cup event as host nation, while seven qualified nations will take up the other places at the finals in Bologna. James Hansen, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025 Arizona, Houston, Texas Tech and BYU are the teams that receive byes this year. Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2025
Interjection
Breaking down The Masked Singer season 13's biggest clues and guesses After saying bye bye bye to Kirkpatrick, the panel had to take their own shot at guessing Nessy. Lauren Huff, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2025 The top seven teams in the division make the postseason, with the first-place team earning a first-round bye and the second-through-fourth-place teams hosting a best-of-three opening-round playoff series. Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bye

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of bye was in 1618

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bye. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bye

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!