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cereal

[ seer-ee-uhl ]
/ ˈsɪər i əl /
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noun
any plant of the grass family yielding an edible grain, as wheat, rye, oats, rice, or corn.
the grain itself.
some edible preparation of it, especially a breakfast food.
adjective
of or relating to grain or the plants producing it.
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Origin of cereal

1590–1600; <Latin Cereālis of, pertaining to Ceres; see -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM cereal

non·ce·re·al, adjective, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cereal

cereal , serial
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cereal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cereal

cereal
/ (ˈsɪərɪəl) /

noun
any grass that produces an edible grain, such as oat, rye, wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, and millet
the grain produced by such a plant
any food made from this grain, esp breakfast food
(modifier) of or relating to any of these plants or their productscereal farming

Word Origin for cereal

C19: from Latin cereālis concerning agriculture, of Ceres 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cereal

cereal
[ sîrē-əl ]

A grass, such as corn, rice, sorghum, or wheat, whose starchy grains are used as food. Cereals are annual plants, and cereal crops must be reseeded for each growing season. Cereal grasses were domesticated during the Neolithic Period and formed the basis of early agriculture.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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