cereal

American  

[seer-ee-uhl] / ˈsɪər i əl /

noun

• cereals
  plural

1. any plant of the grass family yielding an edible grain, as wheat, rye, oats, rice, or corn.

2. the grain itself.

3. some edible preparation of it, especially a breakfast food.

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adjective

1. of or relating to grain or the plants producing it.

cereal British  

/ ˈsɪərɪəl /

noun

1. any grass that produces an edible grain, such as oat, rye, wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, and millet

2. the grain produced by such a plant

3. any food made from this grain, esp breakfast food

4. (modifier) of or relating to any of these plants or their products

   cereal farming

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cereal Scientific  

/ sîr′ē-əl /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncereal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cereals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cereal

1590–1600; < Latin Cereālis of, pertaining to Ceres; see -al ¹

Explanation

Cereal is a grassy grain used for food, like corn or wheat. But if someone offers you a bowl of cereal, don’t expect a pile of grass. Cereal is also a popular breakfast food served in a bowl with milk. You can use the word cereal when you talk about a grain crop, the harvested grain, or the prepared breakfast food. Oatmeal is a hot cereal, and Cheerios is a cold one. Originally, cereal meant "having to do with edible grain," from the Latin Cerealis, "of grain," but also "of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture." Next time you enjoy a bowl of Fruit Loops, make sure to thank Ceres, the goddess of agriculture.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cereal cereals

The cartoon turned the dynamic into an armed raid by cereal characters, but the basic instinct — watch a useful moral vocabulary become commercially useful — was already recognizable.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

“In 2021, cereal was the most-advertised children’s food category,” the authors write: More than 40% of the food ads on children’s television promoted cereal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

To distract the dog from biting them, they said, they fed it cereal they’d taken from a neighboring house where Yakeschi’s aunt lived.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

In 2021, when Osborn was still working as a mechanic at a Kellogg's plant and leading the local food workers' union, he helped lead a 77-day strike against the US cereal giant.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

I find my cereal in the pantry, and there are only like five flakes rattling around.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Attempts to lower their sugar content has resulted in cereals performing poorly in taste tests.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Coal, ore, cereals, chemicals, agricultural produce and other materials will now be able to reach foreign markets more easily.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Soybean oil appears in salad dressings, mayonnaise, baked goods, infant formula, snacks and fried foods; soy lecithin emulsifies chocolate and bread; and soy protein fortifies energy bars, breakfast cereals and canned soup.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

WK Kellogg said Thursday that it will remove artificial colors from all its cereals by the end of this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

This, bear in mind, is the breadbasket of America, an area that produces roughly half the world’s cereals.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• bran
• corn
• grain
• rice
• wheat