sequence

[ see-kwuhns ]

/ ˈsi kwəns /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sequence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the following of one thing after another; succession.

order of succession: a list of books in alphabetical sequence.

a continuous or connected series: a sonnet sequence.

something that follows; a subsequent event; result; consequence.

Music. a melodic or harmonic pattern repeated three or more times at different pitches with or without modulation.

Liturgy. a hymn sometimes sung after the gradual and before the gospel; prose.

Movies. a series of related scenes or shots, as those taking place in one locale or at one time, that make up one episode of the film narrative.

Cards. a series of three or more cards following one another in order of value, especially of the same suit.

Genetics. the linear order of monomers in a polymer, as nucleotides in DNA or amino acids in a protein.

Mathematics. a set whose elements have an order similar to that of the positive integers; a map from the positive integers to a given set.

verb (used with object), se·quenced, se·quenc·ing.

to place in a sequence.

Biochemistry. to determine the order of (chemical units in a polymer chain), especially nucleotides in DNA or RNA or amino acids in a protein.

Nearby words

seqq., sequacious, sequel, sequela, sequelize, sequence, sequence ladder, sequence of tenses, sequencer, sequencing, sequent

Origin of sequence

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin sequentia, equivalent to sequ- (stem of sequī to follow) + -entia -ence

SYNONYMS FOR sequence

2 arrangement.

4 outcome, sequel.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sequence ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

un·der·se·quence, nounun·se·quenced, adjective

Synonym study

1. See series.

Word story

The original meaning of sequence in Middle English was “a hymn sung after the gradual and before the gospel during Mass.” The Middle English noun comes from Old French sequence, whose original sense, dating from the second half of the 12th century, was the same as in Middle English. Old French sequence comes from Medieval Latin sequentia, with the same original meaning.
Sequentia is a feminine noun formed from sequēns (inflectional stem sequent- ), the present participle of the verb sequī “to follow,” and the noun suffix -ia . A sequentia was so called because it followed the Alleluia (a liturgical chant in which the word Alleluia (Hallelujah) is combined with scriptural verses, usually from the Psalms).
The usual, typical sense of sequence, “the succession of one thing after another,” first appears in 1575.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sequence

The central thrust of the sequence derives from historical fact.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But one sequence in particular has divided audiences squarely in half.
Christopher Nolan Explains Interstellar’s Big, Hotly Debated Twist|Marlow Stern|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Without more details, it is impossible to sort out the sequence of events.
Did One Liberian Prostitute Give Ebola to Eight Soldiers?|Kent Sepkowitz|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We shot that sequence in 12 days over six consecutive weekends.
Tom Sizemore’s Revenge: On Tom Cruise’s Scientology Recruitment, Drugs, and Craving a Comeback|Marlow Stern|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At the end of that sequence, Johnny was joking around and said, “We should just put them to work and retire.”
Kevin Smith's Marijuanaissance: On 'Tusk,' 'Falling Out' with Ben Affleck, and 20 Years of 'Clerks'|Marlow Stern|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps I could help you, if you would show me all the letters, I would show you the sequence.
Warren Commission (1 of 26): Hearings Vol. I (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
He gives definite date to none of these appearances, indicating only their sequence.
The Life of Jesus of Nazareth|Rush Rhees
Lodge was one of the earliest to follow the example of Sidney in linking a sequence of sonnets together into a sonnet-cycle.
Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles|Thomas Lodge and Giles Fletcher
In narration these groups of words follow in 15 a sequence exactly as the actions which they represent do.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
But this time the sequence hunted further to both right and left.
Take the Reason Prisoner|John Joseph McGuire

British Dictionary definitions for sequence

sequence

/ (ˈsiːkwəns) /

noun

an arrangement of two or more things in a successive order

the successive order of two or more thingschronological sequence

a sequentially ordered set of related things or ideas

an action or event that follows another or others

cards a set of three or more consecutive cards, usually of the same suit
bridge a set of two or more consecutive cards

music an arrangement of notes or chords repeated several times at different pitches

maths

an ordered set of numbers or other mathematical entities in one-to-one correspondence with the integers 1 to n
an ordered infinite set of mathematical entities in one-to-one correspondence with the natural numbers

a section of a film constituting a single continuous uninterrupted episode

biochem the unique order of amino acids in the polypeptide chain of a protein or of nucleotides in the polynucleotide chain of DNA or RNA

RC Church another word for prose (def. 4)

verb (tr)

to arrange in a sequence

biochem to determine the order of the units comprising (a protein, nucleic acid, genome, etc)

Word Origin for sequence

C14: from Medieval Latin sequentia that which follows, from Latin sequī to follow

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

Medicine definitions for sequence

sequence

[ sē′kwəns, -kwĕns′ ]

n.

A following of one thing after another; succession.

An order of succession; an arrangement.

A related or continuous series.

The order of constituents in a polymer, especially the order of nucleotides in a nucleic acid or of the amino acids in a protein.

v.

To organize or arrange in a sequence.

To determine the order of constituents in a polymer, such as a nucleic acid.

Science definitions for sequence

sequence

[ sē′kwəns ]

Noun

A set of quantities ordered in the same manner as the positive integers, in which there is always the same relation between each quantity and the one succeeding it. A sequence can be finite, such as {1, 3, 5, 7, 9}, or it can be infinite, such as {1, 12, 13, 14, … 1n}. Also called progression

The order of subunits that make up a polymer, especially the order of nucleotides in a nucleic acid or of the amino acids in a protein.

Verb

To determine the order of subunits of a polymer.