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
Cory Mull, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Keep playing conference championship games, with Playoff byes as the primary rewards.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 22 July 2025
The Broncos smashed their way in by enjoying an 11-1 regular season and claiming a first-round bye as the only non-power-conference team in the field.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bye
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Noun
Reigning world champions from 2023 will receive automatic byes in their events.
—Cory Mull, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025
Keep playing conference championship games, with Playoff byes as the primary rewards.
—Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 30 May 2025
Interjection
FanGraphs: The Tigers’ playoff odds are down to 98.9% from 99% last week, but that comes with a 73.7% chance of a first-round playoff bye.
—Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 22 July 2025
The Broncos smashed their way in by enjoying an 11-1 regular season and claiming a first-round bye as the only non-power-conference team in the field.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 19 July 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 5 Aug. 2025.
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