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DictionarybinaryTwo-part classification
adjective / noun

binary

BY-nuh-ree/ˈbaɪnəri/

Representing information or choices through two possible states.

The binary switch offers exactly two positions, zero and one.

A single two-position rocker switch with its two ends marked 0 and 1, making a choice between exactly two values visibly concrete.
Etymology
binLatintwo apiece, twofold
+aryLatinrelating to

Latin bini was used especially of matched things, emphasizing two taken together. Binary preserves that twofold structure, whether the pair consists of parts, choices, or possible values.

In context

Macclesfield Museums0:27
weaving is essentially a binary operation there are only two options lift up a warp thread or leave it down
Paradise Mill How The Jacquard Mechanism Works

More examples

  • The question presents a binary choice between two options.
  • The developer downloads a compiled binary.
  • A switch can represent a binary state: on or off.

Forms

binary · binaries

Similar words

dual
Means having two parts without specifying information encoding.
digital
Uses discrete values, which need not be explicitly binary.