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
Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
Sweden and Switzerland are in Tuesday’s qualification playoffs, and Canada and Slovakia received byes to Wednesday’s quarterfinals after winning their respective groups.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Denver’s defense had already lagged a bit after the bye week — the Commanders and Packers each scored 26 points and at times gave the Broncos fits — but Lawrence led one of the few offensive outings that really cracked this group open.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
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Noun
The Monday bracket projection by Yahoo Sports includes 10 SEC teams, with Texas receiving one of its last four byes.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
Sweden and Switzerland are in Tuesday’s qualification playoffs, and Canada and Slovakia received byes to Wednesday’s quarterfinals after winning their respective groups.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 16 Feb. 2026
Interjection
Winners of 12 straight games, the Knights have already clinched their fourth straight PCAC title and a first-round bye in the state tournament.
—Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
Denver’s defense had already lagged a bit after the bye week — the Commanders and Packers each scored 26 points and at times gave the Broncos fits — but Lawrence led one of the few offensive outings that really cracked this group open.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bye
Cite this Entry
“Bye.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bye. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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