binary system

American  

noun

1. a system involving only two elements, as 0 and 1 or yes and no.

2. Mathematics. a system of counting or measurement whose units are powers of two.

3. Astronomy. binary star.

---

Etymology

Origin of binary system

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

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

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

Nemo’s powerhouse number “The Code” is about struggling to find their place and discovering it “somewhere between the zeroes and ones” of a binary system.

From Seattle Times • May 8, 2024

This planet was just a scientific curiosity; it was and is still the only planet of a binary system with a native population of sapient beings.

From Oomphel in the Sky by Piper, H. Beam