binary

Definition

Being in one of two mutually exclusive states.

Etymology

From Late Latin bīnārius (“consisting of two”), from Latin bīnī (“two-by-two, pair”). By surface analysis, bin- + -ary.

Example Sentences

• "Binary states are often represented as 1 and 0 in computer science."
• "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."
• "It's not binary. You can be decent and gifted at the same time."

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