binary

[ bahy-nuh-ree, -ner-ee ]

adjective

1. consisting of, indicating, or involving two.
2. Mathematics.
   1. of or relating to a system of numerical notation to the base 2, in which each place of a number, expressed as 0 or 1, corresponds to a power of 2. The decimal number 58 appears as 111010 in binary notation, since 58 = 1 × 2 5 + 1 × 2 4 + 1 × 2 3 + 0 × 2 2 + 1 × 2 1 + 0 × 2 0 .
   2. of or relating to the digits or numbers used in binary notation.
   3. of or relating to a binary system.
   4. (of an operation) assigning a third quantity to two given quantities, as in the addition of two numbers.
3. Computers. of, relating to, or written in binary code; programmed or encoded using only the digits 0 and 1:

   All executable programs on the computer are stored in binary files.

4. Chemistry. noting a compound containing only two elements or groups, as sodium chloride, methyl bromide, or methyl hydroxide.
5. Metallurgy. (of an alloy) having two principal constituents.

noun

, plural bi·na·ries.

1. a whole composed of two.
2. Mathematics. a system of numerical notation to the base 2, in which each place of a number, expressed as 0 or 1, corresponds to a power of 2:

   to convert decimal to binary.

3. Also called binary number. Mathematics. a number expressed in the binary system of notation.
4. Computers. binary code.
5. Computers. an executable file stored in binary format.
6. Astronomy. binary star.

binary

/ ˈbaɪnərɪ /

adjective

1. composed of, relating to, or involving two; dual
2. maths computing of, relating to, or expressed in binary notation or binary code
3. (of a compound or molecule) containing atoms of two different elements
4. metallurgy (of an alloy) consisting of two components or phases
5. (of an educational system) consisting of two parallel forms of education such as the grammar school and the secondary modern in Britain
6. maths logic (of a relation, expression, or operation) applying to two elements of its domain; having two argument places; dyadic

noun

1. something composed of two parts or things
2. astronomy See binary star
3. short for binary weapon

binary

/ bī′nə-rē /

1. Having two parts.
2. Mathematics.
   Based on the number 2 or the binary number system.

binary

1. Anything composed of two parts. In modern computers, information is stored in banks of components that act like switches. Since switches can be either on or off, they have a binary character, and we say that the computer uses “binary arithmetic” to do its work.

Word History and Origins

Origin of binary¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin bīnārius, equivalent to bīn(ī) ( bin- ) + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of binary¹

C16: from Late Latin bīnārius ; see bin-

Example Sentences

It’s interested in the time she spends crossing the barrier between gender binaries.

From Vox

A small percentage declined to state or identified as non-binary.

From Search Engine Land

Each pixel received a binary 1 or 0 depending on whether or not it contained part of the image.

From Nautilus

She found herself forced to explain an entirely different social world by relying only on the binary categories of female and male that she knew from her own society.

From Nautilus

Instead of using traditional binary code, which represents information with 0s and 1s, they use quantum bits, or qubits.

From MIT Technology Review

There was a lot of positive feedback from people interested in non-gender binary people.

From The Daily Beast

And it is difficult to object to same-sex marriage when so many binary-defying unions have already taken place.

From The Daily Beast

And this, in turn, reinforced the religious vision of a God-given binary.

From The Daily Beast

She acts as a sort of lie detector, but proceeds through elegant narrative rather than binary test.

From The Daily Beast

A little astronomical forensics suggests that these objects used to be a binary: two stars in mutual orbit.

From The Daily Beast

On this principle is founded the admirable binary nomenclature of botany and zoology.

From Project Gutenberg

This is illustrated by the two cylinders of the compound engine and by the duplication noticed in the binary engine.

From Project Gutenberg

The family system is a combination of the solar and the binary systems.

From Project Gutenberg

Binary or multiple stars, which are extraordinarily numerous.

From Project Gutenberg

Sonata-form, as will be shown later on, has been evolved from old binary form.

From Project Gutenberg