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bye1 
Audio Help [bahy] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [bahy] Pronunciation Key –noun Also, by.
–adjective
—Idiom
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | Golf. the holes of a stipulated course still unplayed after the match is finished. |
| 3. | Cricket. a run made on a ball not struck by the batsman. |
| 4. | something subsidiary, secondary, or out of the way. |
| 5. | by1. |
| 6. | by the bye, by the way; incidentally: By the bye, how do you spell your name? Also, by the by. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
bye
To learn more about bye visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| bye 1 also by
Audio Help (bī) Pronunciation Key
n.
[From by1.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
| bye 2
Audio Help (bī) Pronunciation Key
interj. Used to express farewell. [Short for goodbye.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
bye (1)
in sporting use, a variant of by (prep). Originally in cricket, "a run scored on a ball that is missed by the wicket-keeper" (1746); hence, in other sports, "position of one who is left without a competitor when the rest have drawn pairs" (1883). Also, a shortened form of good-bye. Reduplication bye-bye is recorded from 1709, though as a sound used to lull a child to sleep it is attested from 1636.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
bye (2)
shortened form of good-bye. Reduplication bye-bye is recorded from 1709, though as a sound used to lull a child to sleep it is attested from 1636.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| bye | |
noun | |
| 1. | you advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent; "he had a bye in the first round" |
| 2. | a farewell remark; "they said their good-byes" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Bye
By\ (b[imac]), prep. [OE. bi, AS. b[=i], big, near to, by, of, from, after, according to; akin to OS. & OFries. bi, be, D. bij, OHG. b[=i], G. bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi`. E. prefix be- is orig. the same word. [root]203. See pref. Be-.]1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me. [1913 Webster] By foundation or by shady rivulet He sought them both. --Milton. 2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5. Long labors both by sea and land he bore. --Dryden. By land, by water, they renew the charge. --Pope. 3. Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church. 4. Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty. 5. Against. [Obs.] --Tyndale [1. Cor. iv. 4]. 6. With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force. Note: To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency, belong, more or less closely, most of the following uses of the word: (a) It points out the author and producer; as, "Waverley", a novel by Sir W.Scott; a statue by Canova; a sonata by Beethoven. (b) In an oath or adjuration, it indicates the being or thing appealed to as sanction; as, I affirm to you by all that is sacred; he swears by his faith as a Christian; no, by Heaven. (c) According to; by direction, authority, or example of; after; -- in such phrases as, it appears by his account; ten o'clock by my watch; to live by rule; a model to build by. (d) At the rate of; according to the ratio or proportion of; in the measure or quantity of; as, to sell cloth by the yard, milk by the quart, eggs by the dozen, meat by the pound; to board by the year. (e) In comparison, it denotes the measure of excess or deficiency; when anything is increased or diminished, it indicates the measure of increase or diminution; as, larger by a half; older by five years; to lessen by a third. (f) It expresses continuance or duration; during the course of; within the period of; as, by day, by night. (g) As soon as; not later than; near or at; -- used in expressions of time; as, by this time the sun had risen; he will be here by two o'clock. Note: In boxing the compass, by indicates a pint nearer to, or towards, the next cardinal point; as, north by east, i.e., a point towards the east from the north; northeast by east, i.e., on point nearer the east than northeast is. Note: With is used instead of by before the instrument with which anything is done; as, to beat one with a stick; the board was fastened by the carpenter with nails. But there are many words which may be regarded as means or processes, or, figuratively, as instruments; and whether with or by shall be used with them is a matter of arbitrary, and often, of unsettled usage; as, to a reduce a town by famine; to consume stubble with fire; he gained his purpose by flattery; he entertained them with a story; he distressed us with or by a recital of his sufferings. see With. By all means, most assuredly; without fail; certainly. By and by. (a) Close together (of place). [Obs.] "Two yonge knightes liggyng [lying] by and by." --Chaucer. (b) Immediately; at once. [Obs.] "When . . . persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." --Matt. xiii. 21. (c) Presently; pretty soon; before long. Note: In this phrase, by seems to be used in the sense of nearness in time, and to be repeated for the sake of emphasis, and thus to be equivalent to "soon, and soon," that is instantly; hence, -- less emphatically, -- pretty soon, presently. By one's self, with only one's self near; alone; solitary. By the bye. See under Bye. By the head (Naut.), having the bows lower than the stern; -- said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the stern. By the lee, the situation of a vessel, going free, when she has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side. By the run, to let go by the run, to let go altogether, instead of slacking off. By the way, by the bye; -- used to introduce an incidental or secondary remark or subject. Day by day, One by one, Piece by piece, etc., each day, each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or separately; each severally. To come by, to get possession of; to obtain. To do by, to treat, to behave toward. To set by, to value, to esteem. To stand by, to aid, to support. Note: The common phrase good-by is equivalent to farewell, and would be better written good-bye, as it is a corruption of God be with you (b'w'ye).| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Bye
Bye\ (b[imac]), n. 1. A thing not directly aimed at; something which is a secondary object of regard; an object by the way, etc.; as in on or upon the bye, i. e., in passing; indirectly; by implication. [Obs. except in the phrase by the bye.] The Synod of Dort condemneth upon the bye even the discipline of the Church of England. --Fuller. 2. (Cricket) A run made upon a missed ball; as, to steal a bye. --T. Hughes. By the bye, in passing; by way of digression; apropos to the matter in hand. [Written also by the by.]| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Bye
Bye\ (b[imac]) n. [AS. b[=y]; cf. Icel. byg[eth] dwelling, byggja, b[=u]a, to dwell [root]97.]1. A dwelling. --Gibson. 2. In certain games, a station or place of an individual player. --Emerson.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
BYE
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