bye 1
/buy/ , n. Also, by .
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. by the bye , by the way; incidentally: By the bye, how do you spell your name? Also, by the by .
adj.
6. by 1.
[ 1710-20; var. sp. of BY 1 in its n. sense "side way" ]
bye 2
/buy/ , interj.
by 2.