binary

/ˈbaɪ.nə.ɹi/
adjectivenoun

Being in one of two mutually exclusive states.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Adjective 4 meanings

  1. Being in one of two mutually exclusive states.

    “Binary states are often represented as 1 and 0 in computer science.”

  2. Concerning logic whose subject matter concerns such states.

    “Near-synonym: Boolean”

  3. Concerning numbers and calculations using the binary number system.

  4. Having two equally important parts; related to something with two parts.

    “Two ingredients are combined in a binary poison.”

Noun 2 meanings

  1. A state in which only two values are possible, in which something must have one value or the other.

  2. The bijective base-2 numeral system, which uses only the digits 0 and 1.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English binarie. By surface analysis, bin- + -ary.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
dyadicdoubletwindualtwofold

BINARY at a glance

BINARY has 6 letters and scores 11 points in Scrabble (B 3 + I 1 + N 1 + A 1 + R 1 + Y 4) and 12 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #7,535 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.

Rhymes with binary

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