goodbye
Americaninterjection
noun
-
goodbyes
plural
noun
-
a leave-taking; parting
they prolonged their goodbyes for a few more minutes
-
a farewell
they said goodbyes to each other
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of goodbye
First recorded in 1565–75; contraction of God be with ye
Explanation
Goodbye is a parting word, something you say to other people when you're leaving. You might say goodbye to all your favorite teachers on your last day of high school. A goodbye means that someone's departing: you say goodbye to your parents when you go off to college, and you also say goodbye to guests when they leave after a visit. The original goodbye, dating from the 1570s, was godbwye, which was a contraction of the farewell phrase "God be with ye!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Catholic service, conducted in Armenian, was open-casket, allowing mourners a final chance to say goodbye as they filed by the altar at the conclusion of the ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
And so, for the 20th time her mother and I said goodbye to a fledgling uncertainly attempting flight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
A couple of hours later, still in the middle of a song, Liam waves goodbye and casually strolls out of the rehearsal space.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Erased like an old operating system via update, Apple officially said goodbye to Tim Cook as CEO this week.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
I hug her goodbye, and Avery grabs my hand.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Relatives crouched on the floor to say their final goodbyes to loved ones, kissing the faces of the dead between sobs.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
And, yes, of course, I was thinking of goodbyes, and I was thinking of moving on, and new pursuits and all of these things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
But as he prepares to say his goodbyes on Sunday, there is plenty to appreciate and admire in the here and now.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
It spares the host from managing a revolving door of goodbyes, avoids disrupting the natural energy of the event and doesn’t encourage others to leave simply because they see you heading for the door.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
It's nice to have some more space, but it means a lot of tearful goodbyes.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
