BBY

BBY is an acronym that can refer to more than one topic, depending on context. In popular culture, BBY most commonly denotes a temporal reference used in the Star Wars universe to mean "Before the Battle of Yavin," the event in which the first Death Star is destroyed. This dating system is used alongside ABY, which stands for "After the Battle of Yavin," to place events within the Star Wars chronology across films, books, comics, and games. The BBY/ABY framework helps readers and viewers compare timelines that span different eras of the franchise.

In Star Wars media, BBY is applied to events ranging from the era before the destruction of the Death Star to the early years of the Rebel Alliance. The designation is a narrative device rather than a fixed historical year in the real world, and the exact year can vary by author or medium. The concept is widely recognized among fans and is used to organize and discuss the franchise’s expanded universe, as well as new canonical materials introduced after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Outside of Star Wars, BBY is also the stock ticker symbol for Best Buy Co., Inc., on the NASDAQ exchange. As a ticker, BBY appears in financial reports, market data, and trading systems to identify the company. This usage is unrelated to the Star Wars chronology but shares the same three-letter acronym.

See also: ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), Best Buy stock, Star Wars chronology.