bye

¹ American  

[bahy] / baɪ /

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.

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adjective

1. by.

idioms

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

   By the bye, how do you spell your name?

bye ² American  

[bahy] / baɪ /

interjection

1. goodbye.

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bye- ³ American  

1. variant of by-.

   bye-election.

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bye ¹ British  

/ 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. 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. incidentally; by the way: used as a sentence connector

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bye ² British  

1. informal goodbye

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Etymology

Origin of bye

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

Example Sentences

Raducanu did not win a match in Doha or Dubai, where she had a chest infection, but is healthy again for Friday's second-round match - following a first-round bye -against qualifier Anastasia Zakharova.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

Sierra Canyon’s boys’ team drew a first-round bye in a six-team tournament and will host the winner of Wednesday’s game between Santa Margarita at Redondo Union on Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

"It takes a lot of good people to make a good artist... I don't know what else to say. Thank you, bye!"

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

The Reds crashed 36-12 to the NSW Waratahs a fortnight ago to open their season before a round-two bye.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

“Bye and bye, when the morning come, when all the saints of God’s are gathering home, we will tell the story of how we overcome and we’ll understand it better bye and bye.”

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou