binary

[bahy-nuh-ree, -ner-ee] /ˈbaɪ nə ri, -nɛr i/
adjective
1.
consisting of, indicating, or involving two.
2.
Mathematics.
  1. of or pertaining 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 pertaining to the digits or numbers used in binary notation.
  3. of or pertaining to a binary system.
  4. (of an operation) assigning a third quantity to two given quantities, as in the addition of two numbers.
3.
Chemistry. noting a compound containing only two elements or groups, as sodium chloride, methyl bromide, or methyl hydroxide.
4.
Metallurgy. (of an alloy) having two principal constituents.
noun, plural binaries.
5.
a whole composed of two.
6.
Astronomy, binary star.
7.
Also called binary number. Mathematics. a number expressed in the binary system of notation.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Late Latin bīnārius, equivalent to bīn(ī) (see bin-) + -ārius -ary
Can be confused
binary, bindery.
Examples from the web for binaries
  • Lots of stars are bound up in binaries, where two stars orbit each other.
  • Note: this method may be necessary if there are no pre-compiled binaries available for your platform.
  • binaries that are both visual and spectroscopic thus must be relatively close to earth.
British Dictionary definitions for binaries

binary

/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
noun (pl) -ries
7.
something composed of two parts or things
8.
(astronomy) See binary star
9.
short for binary weapon
Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin bīnārius; see bin-
Word Origin and History for binaries

binary

adj.

"dual," mid-15c., from Late Latin binarius "consisting of two," from bini "twofold, two apiece, two-by-two" (used especially of matched things), from bis "double" (see bis-). Binary code in computer terminology was in use by 1952, though the idea itself is ancient. Binary star in astronomy is from 1802.

binaries in Medicine

binary bi·na·ry (bī'nə-rē)
adj.

  1. Characterized by or consisting of two parts or components; twofold.

  2. Consisting of or containing only molecules having two kinds of atoms.

binaries in Science
binary
  (bī'nə-rē)   

  1. Having two parts.

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


binaries in Culture
binary [(beye-nuh-ree, beye-ner-ee)]

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.

binaries in Technology


binary file