BINARY Definition & Meaning

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binary

[ bahy-nuh-ree, -ner-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

consisting of, indicating, or involving two.
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.
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.
Chemistry. noting a compound containing only two elements or groups, as sodium chloride, methyl bromide, or methyl hydroxide.
Metallurgy. (of an alloy) having two principal constituents.

noun

plural binaries.

a whole composed of two.
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.
Also called binary number. Mathematics. a number expressed in the binary system of notation.
Computers. binary code.
Computers. an executable file stored in binary format.
Astronomy. binary star.

binary

/ ˈ��ɪ��ə��ɪ /

adjective

composed of, relating to, or involving two; dual
maths computing of, relating to, or expressed in binary notation or binary code
(of a compound or molecule) containing atoms of two different elements
metallurgy (of an alloy) consisting of two components or phases
(of an educational system) consisting of two parallel forms of education such as the grammar school and the secondary modern in Britain
maths logic (of a relation, expression, or operation) applying to two elements of its domain; having two argument places; dyadic

noun

something composed of two parts or things
astronomy See binary star
short for binary weapon

binary

/ ��ī′��ə-��ŧ /

Having two parts.
Mathematics.
Based on the number 2 or the binary number system.

binary

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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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of binary¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin ��īnārius, equivalent to ��īn(ī) ( bin- ) + -��ܲ� -ary

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of binary¹

C16: from Late Latin ��īnārius ; see bin-

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Example Sentences

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Everything becomes this binary in today's culture, where everything becomes a point of division, but I don't concern myself too much with that.

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She said the assessments were "complex, time-consuming and often stressful for claimants", as well as being based "on a binary can-can't work divide".

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"It's a binary swipe one way," she says.

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A sheriff’s jail supervisor testified that Baker also tried to leave coded kites — a surreptitious method of inmate communication using handwritten binary code on paper — in a courthouse stairwell that the widow used after him.

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Yet, in his first wide-ranging interview since leaving Downing Street, the former prime minister says he regrets ever saying it because it was "too stark..too binary".

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