bye-bye

/baɪˈbaɪ/

//baɪˈbaɪ// intj

"bye-bye" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bye-bye” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Goodbye.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bye-bye · bye-bye · English

bye-bye · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for bye-bye
PropertyValue
Headwordbye-bye
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/baɪˈbaɪ/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “bye-bye” in English

bye-byesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

bye-bye is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /baɪˈbaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Goodbye.".

Zero misspellings are on record for bye-bye in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Reduplication of bye. The correct English form is bye-bye, spelled B-Y-E---B-Y-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Goodbye.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how bye-bye appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Bye bye! Let's play again some time!

Etymology

Reduplication of bye.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bye-bye"?
"bye-bye" is spelled B-Y-E---B-Y-E. The IPA pronunciation is /baɪˈbaɪ/.
What does "bye-bye" mean?
As an interjection, "bye-bye" means: Goodbye.
How do you pronounce "bye-bye"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bye-bye" is /baɪˈbaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bye-bye"?
Reduplication of bye. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list