buy and bye are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. buy means “obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction”. bye means “an automatic advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent”.
/ˈbaɪ/
1.v.obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction
“The family purchased a new car”
2.v.make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence
“This judge can be bought”
3.v.be worth or be capable of buying
“This sum will buy you a ride on the train”
/ˈbaɪ/
| buy | bye | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbaɪ/ | /ˈbaɪ/ |
| Said | bahy | bahy |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 3 | 3 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | noun |
| Senses | 6 | 2 |
| How common | Core | Core |
| Synonyms | purchase | pass |
1.n.an automatic advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
“he had a bye in the first round”
2.n.a farewell remark
“they said their good-byes”