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.
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 Didymos binary system is located in a near-Earth environment while the Dinkinesh system is located much farther away from Earth in the main asteroid belt," she added.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024
If the orbit of a binary system lies edgewise toward us, then one star will hide the other each revolution, moving across it and appearing on the other side.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 288, July 9, 1881 by Various
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.
