binary system

noun

: binary star
also : a similar system containing bodies (such as black holes) other than stars

Examples of binary system in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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There is some evidence that the protostar here is not a single object but actually a pair, a binary system with the two components orbiting each other fairly close together (separated by about 2.7 billion kilometers, about the same distance between Uranus and the sun). Phil Plait, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2025 This gravitational radiation carries angular momentum away from the binary system, causing the neutron stars to draw together. Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Feb. 2025 Astrophysicists believe these stars began life as one half of a binary system that strayed too close to Sagittarius A*. The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 11 Feb. 2025 Its companions, known as T Tauri South A and B, make up a binary system that's 100 astronomical units (9.3 billion miles/14.9 billion kilometers) away from the main star and orbit around T Tauri North once every 4,600 years. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 23 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for binary system 

Word History

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of binary system was in 1802

Dictionary Entries Near binary system

Cite this Entry

“Binary system.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/binary%20system. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

binary system

noun
: a system of two objects that revolve around each other
especially : binary star

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