bye
Noun pluralbyes
Pluralbyes
- 1A casual word used when parting from someone or ending a conversation.
Bye, thanks for stopping by this afternoon.
“Bye!” he said, then hung up the phone and got back to work.
UsageSpelled bye, unlike by and buy, though all three sound the same. For formal partings, goodbye fits better.
- 2The position of a player or team that draws no opponent in a given round and so advances unopposed, or is credited with a win in the standings; also the imaginary opponent itself.
The top seed received a bye into the quarterfinals.
Because only thirteen teams entered the tournament, the top three seeds were given first-round byes.
UsageTeams get or receive a bye, often a bye into the next round or a first-round bye.
Note
When the empty slot is treated as an opponent, they play the bye: "Craig's Crew plays the bye next week."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The quoted Craig's Crew sentence is an attested dictionary example illustrating the imaginary-opponent sense, with no attributed speaker. en.m.wiktionary.org
- 3An exclamation used to express disbelief or to dismiss what someone has said.
Bye, like I'd ever believe that story.
When he claimed he'd cooked the whole meal, she just said, "Bye."
UsageOften follows a form of address: Girl, bye. It can be playful among friends, but can also sound rude or dismissive.
Similarnonsense, rubbish, bullshit, malarkey, bosh
Note
Slang from African-American Vernacular English turns the casual farewell into a verdict: the speaker says goodbye to a claim rather than to a person.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The dismissive sense is African-American Vernacular slang derived from the farewell. en.m.wiktionary.org
- 4An extra run scored when the batters take runs after the ball passes the striker without touching the bat or the batter.
England added a bye when the ball slipped past the keeper.
Several byes crept into the total during a wild over.
Note
Cricket counts a bye among the extras, the runs a batting side takes without the ball touching bat or batter, provided the delivery is not called wide. Those conditions are the test. A ball that strikes the striker is not a bye, and runs off the bat are not extras at all. Byes can come from a ball that has beaten everyone, as when it slips past the keeper, so a wild over can let several creep into the total.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- A bye is an extra in cricket. en.wikipedia.org
- The delivery must also not be a Wide; runs from a Wide are scored as wides. lords.org
- A delivery that strikes the striker cannot produce byes. icc-cricket.com
- Runs scored off the bat are not extras. en.wikipedia.org
- Byes can also be run when the wicketkeeper catches the delivery; getting past the keeper is not a requirement. en.wikipedia.org
- Several byes can be added to the total. icc-cricket.com
Less common meanings
- 5Something not aimed at directly; a side matter, such as a secondary goal, course, path, or undertaking.
The Synod of Dort in some points condemneth, upon the by, even the discipline of the Church of England.
1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of BritainNote
An obsolete noun for the side issue, the matter handled in passing. Thomas Fuller's Church-history of Britain (1655) spells it by and uses it in the phrase upon the by, meaning incidentally. In that passage Fuller quotes, in order to dispute it, Richard Mountagu's charge that the Synod of Dort condemns the English church's discipline "upon the by," not as its main business. Modern writers can quote the phrase, but the bare noun belongs only in historical pastiche.
- 6Of secondary importance; supplementary rather than the main thing.
It is the custom in some provinces to pay only according to the basic crops produced, but in others the share is calculated out of the total produce of the farm, both bye and main products.
2018, Victor D Lippit, Revival: Land Reform and Economic Development in China (1975) - 7Out of the way; located in a remote or little-traveled spot.
At length having gained a very bye Alley, where he thought he might enter into a Conference unnoticed by any who knew him.
1765, The Parasite - 8A pass; a player's decision to forgo bidding or playing during a card game.
- 9An unnamed or unspecified way or place.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
Old English bī ("being near") gave the word by, and bye is simply another form of it.
A shortened form of "goodbye."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Bye is a shortened form of goodbye. simple.wiktionary.org