binary

American  

[bahy-nuh-ree, -ner-ee] / ˈbaɪ nə ri, -nɛr i /

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.

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noun

binaries plural

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 British  

/ 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

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noun

1. something composed of two parts or things

2. astronomy See binary star

3. short for binary weapon

binary Scientific  

/ bī′nə-rē /

1. Having two parts.

2. Mathematics Based on the number 2 or the binary number system.

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binary Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• binaries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of binary

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

Explanation

Something that can be broken into two categories is binary. Binary means something close to dual or double. You can remember what binary means if you know that bi- means two. Black and white are often set up as a binary, as are light and dark and good and evil. One binary we see all the time is the male and female symbols you see on bathroom doors. In computing, binary is a code of zeros and ones (computer programming) also known as base two. A binary is also a double star — two stars revolving around each other.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

binary binaries

He described one group as “highly innovative with binary outcomes.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

He described one group as “highly innovative with binary outcomes.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

An artist's impression of a red dwarf with a white dwarf binary companion behind, with the diameters shown to scale.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The achievement could help advance quantum computing beyond traditional binary systems, improve sensing technologies, and provide new insights into the foundations of quantum physics.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 15, 2026

Before class, I’d have to recopy it into Arabic numbers, but one day I didn’t have time, so I turned in the assignment in its binary version.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

One of the stellar binaries, known as G203-47, is now officially the ninth closest white dwarf to the Sun.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The museum has physically invalidated the binaries of center and periphery, major and minor arts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

This process unfolds relatively quickly on cosmic timescales, which helps explain why planets around tight binaries are so rarely observed.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026

The illusion awakens him to a new means of looking at “nature and culture, the given and the constructed,” wherein these supposed binaries collapse together and exist simultaneously.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

Castor is one, Gamma Virginis another, Sirius also is one of these binaries, and a most interesting one, having a period of revolution of about 52 years.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck