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“Bi” or “Buy” or “By” or “Bye”

bi / buy / by / bye are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term.

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Definitions

What each term means

Same sound, different spellings and meanings, shown with a pronunciation guide for each term.

bi b·AY

No dictionary entry for this spelling — see the usage examples below for how it shows up in writing.

buy b·AY

  • verbobtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction.
  • verbbe worth or be capable of buying.
  • verbacquire by trade or sacrifice or exchange.
  • verbaccept as true.

by b·AY

  • adverbso as to pass a given point.

bye b·AY

  • nounyou advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent.
Usage

Examples in context

Real sentences for each spelling. Hover an example to copy it.

“bi”

  • …Nd, or Sm (or, rarely, Bi), and B = P or,…
  • …the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu and in anticipation of…
  • …from San Carlo di Graglia (BI); both of them converge on…
  • Bi
  • …a mixture of gay, straight, bi, and undecided.
  • …Antadys, Antafen, Antipain, Baenazin, Benactiv, Biprofin, Biprotec, Bro-Z, Brufen, Brufoz, Cebutid,…
  • …Academy of Sciences of the B.I.
  • Praktische Mathematik, BI Hochschulskripten 812*, Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim,…
  • …the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad (B&I).
  • …it was numbered AI and BI and the branch line as

“buy”

  • …United States, with 4.6 million buys and over $410 million in…
  • …were officers in Cleveland banks—to buy shares in Standard Oil at…
  • …for persuading target customers to buy products.
  • …sponsors, he was able to buy the "Wega", twice as large…
  • He would buy base wine from local French…
  • …was also the first to buy trucks in Hungary for the…
  • Whether she meant to buy them, as she claimed, and…
  • …to allow needy customers to buy from waiting businesses.
  • If you buy and sell a stock before…
  • …company into which students could buy for ten cents per share;…

“by”

  • …on-field ceremony, which was emceed by Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin…
  • …1842, Congress encouraged settlement here by establishing the Armed Occupation Act.
  • …Rideau Rouge Records with distribution by Harmonia Mundi.
  • …in the Kivus were led by Generals Padiri and Dunia.
  • …1952. during a congress made by four workers centrals.
  • The forest was acquired by the federal government from private…
  • …Baseball All-Century Team was chosen by popular vote of fans.
  • Henderson was succeeded by Craig Lehman as the minority
  • …on a team officially endorsed by Major League Baseball, but fans…
  • Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

“bye”

  • The song "Break Up (Bye Bye)", which was featured in…
  • If more than one leg bye is taken the number scored…
  • …top four seeds received a bye into the second round.
  • …conference winners earning a first-round bye.
  • …seed Duke received a first-round bye into the semifinals.
  • Bye: Tottenham Hotspur , Motor Zwickau…
  • …keeper and the batsmen run byes or the ball runs to…
  • …conventional notation for a single bye is a triangle with a…
  • …of the women had a bye through to the semi finals.
  • If the batsmen run byes on a wide ball or…

Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions are drawn from WordNet.

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