bye

¹

[ bahy ]

noun

1. Sports. in a tournament, the preferential status of a player or team not paired with a competitor in an early round and thus automatically advanced to play in the next round:

   The top three seeded players received byes in the first round.

2. Golf. the holes of a stipulated course still unplayed after the match is finished.
3. Cricket. a run made on a ball not struck by the batsman.
4. something subsidiary, secondary, or out of the way.

adjective

1. by.

bye

²

[ bahy ]

interjection

1. goodbye ( def 1 ).

bye-

³

1. variant of by-:

   bye-election.

bye

¹

/ baɪ /

noun

1. sport the situation in which a player or team in an eliminatory contest wins a preliminary round by virtue of having no opponent
2. golf one or more holes of a stipulated course that are left unplayed after the match has been decided
3. See leg bye
   cricket a run scored off a ball not struck by the batsman: allotted to the team as an extra and not to the individual batsman See also leg bye
4. something incidental or secondary
5. by the bye
   by the bye incidentally; by the way: used as a sentence connector

bye

²

sentence substitute

1. informal.
   goodbye

Word History and Origins

Origin of bye¹

1710–20; variant spelling of by in its noun sense “side way”

Word History and Origins

Origin of bye¹

C16: a variant of by

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. by the bye, by the way; incidentally: Also by the by.

   By the bye, how do you spell your name?

Example Sentences

The bye bye is being sung, incidentally, by mothers to their babies condemned to death by King Herod.

From The Daily Beast

Her very first performance onstage came at the age of 4, when she cameoed as a dancing flower in the musical Bye Bye Birdie.

From The Daily Beast

“Good bye boys, I die a true American,” were his last words, according to the headstone.

From The Daily Beast

I never knew how long he would last before he said, “Okay, bye.”

From The Daily Beast

They were calling out to family and friends, asking if there was anything that could be done, and in some cases, saying good-bye.

From The Daily Beast

Here were the sources (in part) of the Po and of the Rhine, but I was rather in haste to bid the former good-bye.

From Project Gutenberg

"Yes," said Punch, lifted up in his father's arms to wave good-bye.

From Project Gutenberg

Good-bye, then, Miss Warrender; parting is such sweet sorrow, I e'en could say good-bye until to-morrow.

From Project Gutenberg

You had better go to him, Dolly, and bid him good bye, before he takes the team to the field.

From Project Gutenberg

Colonial charters were, however, "undoubtedly no more than those of all corporations, which empower them to make bye-laws."

From Project Gutenberg