Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Binary
Bi′na-ry
,Adj.
[L.
binarius
, fr. bini
two by two, two at a time, fr. root of bis
twice; akin to E. two
: cf. F. binaire
.] Compounded or consisting of two things or parts; characterized by two (things).
Binary arithmetic
, that in which numbers are expressed according to the binary scale, or in which two figures only, 0 and 1, are used, in lieu of ten; the cipher multiplying everything by two, as in common arithmetic by ten. Thus, 1 is one; 10 is two; 11 is three; 100 is four, etc.
Davies & Peck.
– Binary compound
(Chem.)
, a compound of two elements, or of an element and a compound performing the function of an element, or of two compounds performing the function of elements.
– Binary logarithms
, a system of logarithms devised by Euler for facilitating musical calculations, in which 1 is the logarithm of 2, instead of 10, as in the common logarithms, and the modulus 1.442695 instead of .43429448.
– Binary measure
(Mus.)
, measure divisible by two or four; common time.
– Binary nomenclature
(Nat. Hist.)
, nomenclature in which the names designate both genus and species.
– Binary scale
(Arith.)
, a uniform scale of notation whose ratio is two.
– Binary star
(Astron.)
, a double star whose members have a revolution round their common center of gravity.
– Binary theory
(Chem.)
, the theory that all chemical compounds consist of two constituents of opposite and unlike qualities.
Bi′na-ry
,Noun.
That which is constituted of two figures, things, or parts; two; duality.
Fotherby.
Webster 1828 Edition
Binary
BI'NARY
,Adj.
Binary arithmetic, the invention of Leibnitz, is that in which two figures only, 0 and 1, are used, in lieu of ten; the cypher multiplying every thing by two, as in common arithmetic by 10. Thus, 1 is one; 10 is two; 11 is three; 100 is four; 101 is five; 110 is six; 111, is seven; 1000 is eight; 1001 is nine; 1010 is ten. It is said this species of arithmetic has been used by the Chinese for 4000 years, being left in enigma by Fohi.
Binary measure, in music, is that used in common time, in which the time of rising in beating, is equal to the time of falling.
Binary number is that which is composed of two units.
BI'NARY
,Noun.
Definition 2024
binary
binary
English
Adjective
binary (not comparable)
- Being in a state of one of two mutually exclusive conditions such as on or off, true or false, molten or frozen, presence or absence of a signal.
- 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
- Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
- Binary states are often represented as 1 and 0 in computer science.
-
- (logic) Concerning logic whose subject matter concerns binary states.
- (arithmetic, computing) Concerning numbers and calculations using the binary number system.
- Having two equally important parts; related to something with two parts.
- Two ingredients are combined in a binary poison.
- A binary statistical distribution has only two categories.
- (mathematics, programming, computer engineering) Of an operation, function, procedure, or logic gate, taking exactly two operands, arguments, parameters, or inputs; having domain of dimension 2.
- Division of reals is a binary operation.
- (computing) Of data, consisting coded values (e.g. machine code) not interpretable as plain or ASCII text (e.g. source code).
- He downloaded the binary distribution for Linux, then burned it to DVD.
Synonyms
- (arity, adicity, rank): dyadic
- (logic of binary states): Boolean
- (of calculations with binary numbers): base-2
Antonyms
- non-binary
- (arbitrary data): ASCII, text
Derived terms
Terms derived from binary
|
Translations
on or off
logic states
using binary number system
|
equal importance
having two parts
Not ASCII
See also
Noun
binary (plural binaries)
- (mathematics, computing, uncountable) The bijective base-2 numeral system, which uses only the digits 0 and 1.
- (computing) An executable computer file.
- (astronomy) A star system consisting of only two stars.
Synonyms
- (base 2 numeral system): base 2
- (system of two stars): binary star, double star
Antonyms
- (computing): non-binary
Derived terms
Translations
number system
executable computer file