Good-by or goodbye?
good-by is an interjection meaning “Dated form of goodbye”; goodbye is an interjection meaning “Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer…”.
What is the difference between good-by and goodbye?
| good-by | goodbye | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | interjection, noun | interjection, noun, verb |
| Meaning | Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing An utterance of goodbye, the wishing of farewell to someone To say goodbye; to wish somebody farewell on parting | |
| Example | none recorded | Goodbye! - Goodbye, Anna |
| Forms | good-bys | good-bye |
| Pronunciation | not recorded | /ɡʊdˈbaɪ/ /ɡɵdˈbɑj/ |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | 20 times per million words |
Sources: good-by and goodbye in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of good-by and goodbye
good-by
- 1
datedDated form of goodbye
- 2
datedDated form of goodbye
goodbye
- 1
Farewell; a formula used to another person or persons when the speaker, writer, or person addressed is departing
Goodbye! - Goodbye, Anna
- 2
An utterance of goodbye, the wishing of farewell to someone
They made their good-byes
- 3
To say goodbye; to wish somebody farewell on parting
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, good-by or goodbye?
good-by is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; goodbye 20 times per million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).