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goodbye

/gʊdˈbaɪ/
/ˈgʊdbaɪ/
IPA guide

Other forms: goodbyes

Goodbye is a parting word, something you say to other people when you're leaving. You might say goodbye to all your favorite teachers on your last day of high school.

A goodbye means that someone's departing: you say goodbye to your parents when you go off to college, and you also say goodbye to guests when they leave after a visit. The original goodbye, dating from the 1570s, was godbwye, which was a contraction of the farewell phrase "God be with ye!"

Definitions of goodbye
  1. noun
    a farewell remark
    see moresee less
    type of:
    farewell, word of farewell
    an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting
Pronunciation
US
/gʊdˈbaɪ/
UK
/ˈgʊdbaɪ/
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