nonbinary

adjective non·bi·na·ry \ ˌnän-ˈbī-nə-rē , -ˌner-ē , -ˌne-rē \

|Updated on: 25 Jun 2018

Definition of nonbinary

: not binary: such as

a : not restricted to two things or parts

nonbinary voting

b : of, relating to, or being a system of numbers that does not use 2 as its base

nonbinary math

c : relating to or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female

… an effort to create more equality for nonbinary and transgender students across campus.
—Phoebe Roe

… many people with nonbinary genders use "they" and "their" pronouns …
—Lucy Brisbane

Recent Examples of nonbinary from the Web

Fifty-nine percent were female, 40 percent were male, and 1 percent were nonbinary.

— julie beck, The Atlantic, "Did Cambridge Analytica Actually Change Facebook Users’ Behavior?," 7 June 2018
Officially called Anti-Prom, the event began in 2015 as a nonbinary party in downtown New York City.

— brooke bobb, Vogue, "This Is What a Nonbinary Anti-Prom Party Looks Like," 29 May 2018
But if the godfathers of nonbinary pop — from Freddie Mercury to Adam Lambert — paved the way, their personas often came across as glam-rock caricature.

— nick haramis, New York Times, "Welcome to the Age of the Twink," 14 May 2018
Beauty retailer Sephora is launching complimentary makeup classes across the U.S. specifically geared toward transgender and gender-nonbinary individuals.

— NBC News, "Sephora to offer free makeup classes for transgender community," 24 May 2018
Freelance Wrestling brings together tough guys for a very scripted, very funny monthly brawl, while CLLAW offers women and nonbinary folks the opportunity to compete for some arm-wrestling glory.

— chicagotribune.com, "Secret Chicago: 40 of the city's best-kept mystery spots," 1 May 2018
In May, the PACTS team will launch two new support groups for children ages 5 to 17 who are nonbinary, not identifying as either male or female.

— rita giordano, Philly.com, "Transgender kids vulnerable to bullying, long-term depression, large studies find," 16 Apr. 2018
Last June, Oregon became the first to recognize a nonbinary gender option on driver’s licenses.

— annie tritt, Vox, "States are starting to recognize a third gender. Here’s what that means for nonbinary youth.," 28 Mar. 2018
This year’s lineup was roughly an even 50/50 split between men and women or nonbinary performers –– compared to Pitchfork’s findings that this year’s festival season overall was only 19% female.

— refinery29.com, "What Does FYF’s Cancellation Mean For Women Headlining Music Festivals?," 6 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nonbinary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.