bye

Bye is an English interjection used to express farewell in casual speech. It is commonly shortened from goodbye and can stand alone as a sign-off in conversation, messages, and informal writing. The form bye-bye is a more emphatic or child-directed version. In everyday use, bye conveys a brief, cordial closing and may be followed by a name or a statement like "see you later."

Etymology: The longer form goodbye derives from the phrase God be with you, first attested in the early modern period. The shortened form bye emerged later and became common in informal writing and spoken language by the 19th century. The development reflects a general pattern of contraction in everyday speech.

Other uses: In sports, a bye refers to an arrangement that allows a participant to advance to the next round without playing a scheduled match, typically due to an uneven number of competitors or a withdrawal. In cricket, byes are runs scored when the ball passes the batsman without contact with the bat; these runs are counted as extras rather than to a batsman’s score.

Usage notes: The term is informal and regional in tone; in formal writing or speech, goodbye is often preferred. Bye also appears in digital communication as a quick, casual closing. While related phrases exist in many languages, bye remains a concise English expression widely understood in international contexts.