binary system
Americannoun
-
a system involving only two elements, as 0 and 1 or yes and no.
-
Mathematics. a system of counting or measurement whose units are powers of two.
-
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.
In a typical binary system, two stars with slightly different masses circle each other along elongated, or elliptical, paths.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 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’s a binary system; a choice of extremes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024
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
The close pair is a binary system with a long period of revolution, estimated at about two hundred years.
From Pleasures of the telescope An Illustrated Guide for Amateur Astronomers and a Popular Description of the Chief Wonders of the Heavens for General Readers by Serviss, Garrett Putman
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.
