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
Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
The Tigers would host the Guardians in the other Wild Card series, and the Blue Jays and Mariners would earn byes to the divisional round.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Sep. 2025
Fancher suffered leg and back injuries in the season opener and missed the previous matchup prior to the bye week.
—Erik Buchinger, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bye
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Noun
The Jays have six more games to earn a wild-card bye, buying time for their ailing contributors.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
The Tigers would host the Guardians in the other Wild Card series, and the Blue Jays and Mariners would earn byes to the divisional round.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Sep. 2025
Interjection
Claiming the top seed and securing a bye would be huge for the Blue Jays in their quest for a World Series.
—Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Sep. 2025
Fancher suffered leg and back injuries in the season opener and missed the previous matchup prior to the bye week.
—Erik Buchinger, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 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 26 Sep. 2025.
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