sequence

American  

[see-kwuhns] / ˈsi kwəns /

noun

• sequences
  plural

1. the following of one thing after another; succession.

2. order of succession.

   a list of books in alphabetical sequence.

   Synonyms:

   arrangement

3. a continuous or connected series.

   a sonnet sequence.

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

   Synonyms:

   sequel, outcome

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

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

7. 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.

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

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

10. 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)

• sequences,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sequenced,
  past participle,  past
• sequencing
  present participle

1. to place in a sequence.

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

sequence British  

/ ˈsiːkwəns /

noun

1. an arrangement of two or more things in a successive order

2. the successive order of two or more things

   chronological sequence

3. a sequentially ordered set of related things or ideas

4. an action or event that follows another or others

5. 1. cards a set of three or more consecutive cards, usually of the same suit

   2. bridge a set of two or more consecutive cards

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

7. maths

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

   2. an ordered infinite set of mathematical entities in one-to-one correspondence with the natural numbers

8. a section of a film constituting a single continuous uninterrupted episode

9. 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

10. RC Church another word for prose

---

verb

1. to arrange in a sequence

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

sequence Scientific  

/ sē′kwəns /

1. 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, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, … 1/n}.

2. Also called progression

3. 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.

---

1. To determine the order of subunits of a polymer.

Synonym Usage

See series.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undersequence
  noun
• unsequenced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sequences
  plural

Participles

• sequencing
  present
• sequenced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sequence
  simple
• sequences
  simple
• have sequenced
  perfect
• has sequenced
  perfect
• am sequencing
  progressive
• are sequencing
  progressive
• is sequencing
  progressive
• have been sequencing
  perfect progressive
• has been sequencing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sequenced
  simple
• had sequenced
  perfect
• was sequencing
  progressive
• were sequencing
  progressive
• had been sequencing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sequence
  simple
• will have sequenced
  perfect
• will be sequencing
  progressive
• will have been sequencing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sequence

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Late Latin sequentia, equivalent to sequ- (stem of sequī “to follow”) + -entia noun suffix; see -ence

Explanation

When things come in sequence, they come in a specific order. It could be a chronological sequence, a sequence following a pattern (red-blue-brown, red-blue-brown), or a cause-and-effect sequence. Sequence can also be a verb. When you sequence something, you put it in order. The prom committee had the task of sequencing dance music––even if playing "Celebrate" as the final dance and not the first felt out of sequence to the DJ, it was their call.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sequence sequences sequenced sequencing

California has officially run out of combinations for its current license plate sequence, ending a string of plates dating back to the 1980s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Instead of requiring a long sequence of repeated control steps, they can allow the intended quantum operation to be completed in just one driving cycle.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026

"The flap deployment here happened much later in the accident sequence," Rojas said.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Who better to do that testing than the company that already has the patient’s tumor sequence?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

It is unsophisticated, employs no big forms and no big architectural structures, and it uses small sequence forms, ostinato and rondo.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

But I'd rather there had been fewer acting sequences and more gameplay.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Because some DNA sequences can be programmed to interact more strongly than others, scientists may eventually be able to take advantage of these properties to build customized DNA structures for biotechnology.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Wilson said as an actor and a movie buff, it was a thrill to see how the action sequences were put together.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

A barrage of newly concocted action sequences in the second half makes the pacing so off-balance that the film feels like a heron trying to fly with one blinged-out wing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Two irregular sequences of bases could be regularly packed in the center of a helix if a purine always hydrogen-bonded to a pyrimidine.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

This vaccine is different: A surgeon removes the tumor and sends it to a lab, where its mutations are sequenced and an algorithm identifies the targets for a personalized mRNA vaccine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

They developed "sequenced steps and timelines" while also committing to "flexibility and creativity", the statement said.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Unlike traditional posthumous albums that stitch together loose verses, “Prolific” was recorded and sequenced nearly two years before Hussle’s death.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

The team sequenced the genomes of four parent-offspring trios and counted the new mutations that appeared.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

Indeed, as predicted, when the gene encoding the hemoglobin B chain was later identified and sequenced in sickle-cell patients, there was a single change: one triplet in DNA—GAG—had changed to another—GTG.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

The researchers combined single-cell RNA sequencing, which reveals which genes individual cells are using, with spatial transcriptomics, a technique that shows where those cells are positioned and which neighboring cells are nearby.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

But it is also creating a gold rush in a growing corner of healthcare: tumor sequencing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

If these therapies become blockbusters, the diagnostic companies doing that sequencing could hold a lucrative tollbooth on every dose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Genetic sequencing showed that the organisms' DNA was present in the samples, but getting the microbes to grow in the laboratory so researchers could study them directly proved far more difficult.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

Movement and rhymes build cognitive abilities in terms of sequencing physical and linguistic activity, imitation, and internalization.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• arrangement
• array
• progression
• string