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

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

Littler received a bye to the semi-finals in Glasgow after Van Gerwen's withdrawal so banked another two points, but he has only won one game this year.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

“If we don’t find it, then we get like: OK, see you tomorrow, bye bye.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

His mother is waving bye to Mom and giving Clint the time-to-leave nod.

From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper