you advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
<noun.communication> he had a bye in the first round
a farewell remark
<noun.communication> they said their good-byes
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.
3. In various sports in which the contestants are drawn in pairs, the position or turn of one left with no opponent in consequence of an odd number being engaged; as, to draw a bye in a round of a tennis tournament. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
4. (Golf) The hole or holes of a stipulated course remaining unplayed at the end of a match.
{By the bye}, in passing; by way of digression; apropos to the matter in hand. [Written also {by the by}.]
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.
Good bye, and thank you for reading to the end. Dominic Lawson is editor of The Spectator.