binary system
Americannoun
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a system involving only two elements, as 0 and 1 or yes and no.
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Mathematics. a system of counting or measurement whose units are powers of two.
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Astronomy. binary star.
Etymology
Origin of binary system
First recorded in 1825–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Though he takes a minute to upbraid her, they’re obviously the show’s binary system, and Decker is in any case a cheery sort who takes things in stride — even prison, seemingly.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026
"The evidence strongly supports a binary system containing a magnetar -- a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field, and a star like our Sun."
From Science Daily • Jan. 28, 2026
EX Hydrae exists in a binary system alongside a normal main sequence star.
From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026
This strange new world orbits around two stars at once, which dance around each other in what astronomers call a binary system.
From Space Scoop • May 6, 2025
It is virtually certain that RR Centauri is a case of an eclipsing binary system, and that the two stars are close together.
From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
