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Main definitions of bye in English

: bye1bye2

bye1

Pronunciation /bī/ /baɪ/

Translate bye into Spanish

noun

  • 1The transfer of a competitor directly to the next round of a competition in the absence of an assigned opponent.

    ‘he has a bye into the second round’
    • ‘All 16 seeded players received byes into the second round.’
    • ‘Where's the justice in eliminating more non-league teams in the qualifying rounds than is necessary, only for league clubs to be given byes in the first round proper of the competition?’
    • ‘Again, there would be a two-day playoff, but without byes.’
    • ‘But nothing says that only one team must skip the first round - you could also give 3 byes in the first round, which will leave you with 13 teams in the second round, or 5 byes or any other odd number.’
    • ‘If the Scots do not win the regular season championship, finishing second is critical, as the top two seeds receive first round byes and semi-final home games.’
    • ‘And as usual, the main ‘race’ threw up a few appetisers, although the holders were one of the four first round byes.’
    • ‘All four teams have fresh legs, thanks to first-round byes followed by the pleasure of playing divisional playoff games at home.’
    • ‘The addition of two wild cards in each league would give the top two finishers first-round byes but make the tournament unwieldy.’
    • ‘As usual, the four teams who had byes played in the conference title games last year.’
    • ‘If a knock-out solution takes effect, nine teams would get byes through to the second round, where they would meet the winners of seven drawn ties to create a last 16.’
    • ‘Taking the money into account - as well as the prospect of eliminating byes altogether - a proposal to eventually put 16 teams into the playoffs is probably on the horizon.’
    • ‘If the league is going to add one team per conference, it might as well add two teams per conference and eliminate first-round byes altogether.’
    • ‘If the league had 16 playoff teams, byes would be eliminated, and that is very appealing to a cross-section of owners who believe byes give teams unfair advantages.’
    • ‘In my mind, the road team with the best chance to win is Green Bay, but historically, the week of rest has been a major advantage for teams with byes.’
    • ‘Some argue it would take away the huge advantage the top four seeds have from byes and home-field advantage.’
    • ‘Nevertheless, each rebounded to win their division and secure first-round byes.’
    • ‘In the absence of leading seeds with first-round byes, lesser contenders took center stage on opening day.’
    • ‘The top six teams in the field were given byes into the quarter-finals while the bottom four teams must play seeding matches to move on.’
    • ‘The increase to 16 means the end of first-round byes.’
    • ‘With that, college hockey was finally rid of its 12-team format, which awarded byes to the top four teams and a tremendous advantage.’
    goodbye, farewell

  • 2Golf
    One or more holes remaining unplayed after a match has been decided.

Origin

Mid 16th century (denoting a side issue or incidental matter): from by.

Main definitions of bye in English

: bye1bye2

bye2

Pronunciation /bī/ /baɪ/

Translate bye into Spanish

exclamation

informal
short for goodbye
‘Okay, James. I'll call her now. Bye’
  • ‘ Bye for now, Janie!’
  • ‘I have decided that I have run out of adjectives or maybe never had any in the first place so bye for now.’
  • ‘Well, my mom's calling me because we're going to the hospital to visit my grandma, so bye for now, and pray I don't upset her.’
  • ‘But anyway, you've probably got better things to do than listen to me rant, so bye for now.’
  • ‘That's all the screen time I'm allowed, okay, bye!’
  • ‘When I send email, I always wish it on its way with the little phrase, ‘Wheee, bye!’’
  • ‘Yeah… it's kind of late, I'm just going to go to bed now, please don't tell my parents, bye!’
  • ‘Jerry just kinda stood there, and said, ‘Yeah… well, glad to see everything's good, bye!’’
  • ‘She flew up the stairs and stopped at the door, ‘Nice to meet - thanks for - have a nice evening, bye!’’
  • ‘She smacked my shoulder and I smiled, turned, grabbed my bag and said, ‘Well I gotta be off, bye!’’
  • ‘I've just finished recording it in America and can't wait for you to hear it - it won't be long now… bye!’
  • ‘Dad, you have to be safe, but come back home and have a good time and I'll be taking care of mom and the and I just want to say bye.’
  • ‘You just say excuse me, president business, gotta run, bye.’
  • ‘But, well, I've just finished my exams, so I wanted to say hi, and, well bye.’
  • ‘After he said bye, the news lady and I just absolutely lost it.’
  • ‘He came to spend the weekend with us and we had a nice time; lots of drinks and dinosaurs (of the model variety) and a chance to say bye.’
  • ‘The people I did get on with have all phoned to say bye, including my one senior ally who thought I should never have been made to do those dreaded phone calls.’
  • ‘We would leave each other and say, see you later or catch up with you later, but it was never bye.’
  • ‘Your dad left an hour ago but he told me to tell you bye.’
  • ‘‘Yeah, bye, Dan,’ he said as he followed Jenny out the door.’
  • ‘‘Alright, bye,’ Nathaniel's grandson said, then leaving the room.’