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

People can also watch safely by projecting an image of the sun onto a white card using a telescope, a cereal box pinhole viewer, or even a kitchen colander.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

Gruel recalls growing up in what he calls the “microwave generation,” in a house stocked with cereal, pasta, refined carbohydrates and premade salad dressings.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

Protein-enriched products now fill grocery store shelves, appearing in everything from cereal and coffee to water.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

News organizations devote way less space to mergers, acquisitions or spinoffs involving toilet paper, paint or breakfast cereal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

I feed him a bowl of cereal and some leftover broccoli for dinner.

From "Invisible Inkling" by Emily Jenkins

Global food prices edged lower in June as cereals, sugar and dairy products became less expensive, though an intense El Nino added uncertainty to production outlooks, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

India's main summer crops include rice, pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and jute.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Most cereals are loaded with sugars and use white flour from refined grains, which strips them of high-quality fiber.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026

Some cereals and breads are also fortified with it, helping people who do not eat meat get enough.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

Those eight founders were the cereals emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, and barley; the pulses lentil, pea, chickpea, and bitter vetch; and the fiber crop flax.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• bran
• corn
• grain
• rice
• wheat