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.
This discovery also confirms a long-predicted type of binary system that had never been clearly identified.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 25, 2026
A nova happens in a close binary system when a white dwarf, the dense leftover core of a star, pulls gas from a nearby companion.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 31, 2025
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’s a binary system; a choice of extremes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024
The period usually assigned to the revolution of this binary system is 117 years, and the period of peri-astral passage is said to be 1779.
From Half-hours with the Telescope Being a Popular Guide to the Use of the Telescope as a Means of Amusement and Instruction. by Proctor, Richard A. (Richard Anthony)
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.
