bye1
/bʌɪ
/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.
2 Cricket A run scored from a ball that passes the batsman without being hit (recorded as an extra, not credited to the individual batsman).Cricket, with its googlies, boseys, chinamen, silly legs, byes, sundries - the whole argot - was incomprehensible without deep explanation....
- Some balls bounced three times before getting to the batsman; others went clean over the wicketkeeper for four byes.
- His first ball was a no-ball, his second a full-toss, and his third ripped out of the rough for two byes.
3 Golf One or more holes remaining unplayed after a match has been decided.
Phrases
by the bye
Origin
Mid 16th century (denoting a side issue or incidental matter): from by.
Rhymes
bye2
/bʌɪ/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.