binarily

Binarily is an English adverb derived from binary. It denotes performing or describing something in a binary manner, by two parts or states, or in relation to base-2 representations. The term is most commonly used in technical contexts such as computing, logic, and mathematics, and is relatively rare in everyday language. Binarily describes actions, processes, or structures that operate on two discrete values or that encode information using two symbols, typically 0 and 1.

In computing and information theory, data and operations are described as binarily when they involve two-valued logic or two-state systems. For example, digital data are stored binarily as sequences of bits, and communication protocols may transmit data binarily. In mathematics and logic, many constructs are defined binarily, such as binary operations (which take two operands) and binary relations (which relate pairs of elements). A predicate can also be described as binarily defined when its truth conditions depend on two inputs.

Etymology and usage notes: binarily is formed from binary plus the adverbial suffix -ly. It is somewhat formal and technical; in many contexts, writers may prefer phrasing like "in binary" or "using binary representations." See also binary, base-2, binary operation, binary relation.