bye

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

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

by¹.

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anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

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Idioms for 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 by¹ in its noun sense “side way”

Words nearby bye

byam shaw, byatt, byblos, byde, bydgoszcz, bye, bye-, bye-blow, bye-bye, bye-byes, byelaw

Definition for bye (2 of 4)

bye²

or by

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

interjection

goodbye.

Definition for bye (3 of 4)

by²

or bye

[ bahy ]

/ baɪ /

interjection

goodbye: By now, come again sometime!

Origin of by

by shortening

Definition for bye (4 of 4)

bye-

variant of by-: bye-election.

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for bye

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
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
The year before that, West Side Story and Bye Bye Birdie were huge sellers.
Before the Earthquake Hit: When The Beatles Landed in America|Michael Tomasky|January 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was alone, wrapped at six in the morning, and the rest of us had wrapped earlier and were like, “Well, bye, goodnight!”
Alison Brie on ‘Community’s’ New Beginning, Dan Harmon’s Return, Nicolas Cage, and More|Marlow Stern|January 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

To quote my spirit animal, Merritt Wever, “I gotta go, bye.”
The Crazy Emmy Awards 2013: Wild Upsets, Odd Hosting & More (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
No words can do justice to her beauty, though, by the bye, he must have contemplated her through the back of his head!'
Beechcroft at Rockstone|Charlotte M. Yonge
The sin lies in the inclination (by the bye, I think that's half a mistake).
Records of a Girlhood|Frances Ann Kemble
So he went back on his track and by and bye came to the tree in which Ledha was hiding.
Folklore of the Santal Parganas|Cecil Henry Bompas
Only time to learn the letters that we shall spell hereafter—to form the strokes and loops wherewith we shall write by and bye.
It Might Have Been|Emily Sarah Holt
There had always been trouble in collecting the rates on bye and cross post letters.
The History of the British Post Office|Joseph Clarence Hemmeon

British Dictionary definitions for bye (1 of 4)

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 4)

bye²

bye-bye

sentence substitute

British informal goodbye

British Dictionary definitions for bye (3 of 4)

by¹

/ (baɪ) /

preposition

used to indicate the agent after a passive verbseeds eaten by the birds

used to indicate the person responsible for a creative workthis song is by Schubert

via; throughenter by the back door

followed by a gerund to indicate a means usedhe frightened her by hiding behind the door

beside; next to; neara tree by the house

passing the position of; pasthe drove by the old cottage

not later than; beforereturn the books by Tuesday

used to indicate extent, after a comparativeit is hotter by five degrees than it was yesterday

(esp in oaths) invoking the name ofI swear by all the gods

multiplied byfour by three equals twelve

(in habitual sentences) during the passing of (esp in the phrases by day, by night)

placed between measurements of the various dimensions of somethinga plank fourteen inches by seven

adverb

nearthe house is close by

away; asidehe put some money by each week for savings

passing a point near something; pasthe drove by

Scot past; over and done withthat's a' by now

Scot aside; behind oneyou must put that by you

noun plural byes

a variant spelling of bye 1

Word Origin for by

Old English bī; related to Gothic bi, Old High German bī, Sanskrit abhi to, towards

British Dictionary definitions for bye (4 of 4)

by²

the internet domain name for

Belarus

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

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bye

noun Also by.

adjective

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Idioms for bye

Origin of bye

Words nearby bye

Definition for bye (2 of 4)

or by

interjection

Definition for bye (3 of 4)

or bye

interjection

Origin of by

Definition for bye (4 of 4)

Example sentences from the Web for bye

British Dictionary definitions for bye (1 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for bye

British Dictionary definitions for bye (2 of 4)

bye-bye

sentence substitute

British Dictionary definitions for bye (3 of 4)

preposition

adverb

noun plural byes

Word Origin for by

British Dictionary definitions for bye (4 of 4)

the internet domain name for

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

bye

noun Also by.

adjective

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Idioms for bye

Origin of bye

Words nearby bye

Definition for bye (2 of 4)

or by

interjection

Definition for bye (3 of 4)

or bye

interjection

Origin of by

Definition for bye (4 of 4)

Content related to bye

Words related to bye

Example sentences from the Web for bye

British Dictionary definitions for bye (1 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for bye

British Dictionary definitions for bye (2 of 4)

bye-bye

sentence substitute

British Dictionary definitions for bye (3 of 4)

preposition

adverb

noun plural byes

Word Origin for by

British Dictionary definitions for bye (4 of 4)

the internet domain name for