bye

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

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noun Also by.

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.

Golf. the holes of a stipulated course still unplayed after the match is finished.

Cricket. a run made on a ball not struck by the batsman.

something subsidiary, secondary, or out of the way.

adjective

by.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about bye

by the bye, by the way; incidentally: By the bye, how do you spell your name?Also by the by .

Origin of bye

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

Other definitions for bye (2 of 3)

bye²

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

interjection

goodbye (def. 1).

Other definitions for bye (3 of 3)

bye-

variant of by-: bye-election.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bye in a sentence

The bye bye is being sung, incidentally, by mothers to their babies condemned to death by King Herod.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|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.
Jena Malone’s Long, Strange Trip From Homelessness to Hollywood Stardom|Marlow Stern|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Good bye boys, I die a true American,” were his last words, according to the headstone.
Brooklyn’s Gangster Graveyard|Nina Strochlic|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I never knew how long he would last before he said, “Okay, bye.”
A Full-Length Bill Cosby Portrait: From Track Star to Ugly Sweaters|Scott Porch|September 24, 2014|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.
The Resilient City: New York After 9/11|John Avlon|September 11, 2014|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.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
"Yes," said Punch, lifted up in his father's arms to wave good-bye.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Good-bye, then, Miss Warrender; parting is such sweet sorrow, I e'en could say good-bye until to-morrow.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
You had better go to him, Dolly, and bid him good bye, before he takes the team to the field.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
Colonial charters were, however, "undoubtedly no more than those of all corporations, which empower them to make bye-laws."
The Eve of the Revolution|Carl Becker

British Dictionary definitions for bye (1 of 2)

bye¹

/ (baɪ) /

noun

sport the situation in which a player or team in an eliminatory contest wins a preliminary round by virtue of having no opponent

golf one or more holes of a stipulated course that are left unplayed after the match has been decided

cricket a run scored off a ball not struck by the batsman: allotted to the team as an extra and not to the individual batsmanSee also leg bye

something incidental or secondary

by the bye incidentally; by the way: used as a sentence connector

Word Origin for bye

C16: a variant of by

British Dictionary definitions for bye (2 of 2)

bye²

bye-bye

sentence substitute

British informal goodbye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012