sequential
Americanadjective
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characterized by regular sequence of parts.
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Business. by comparison with the immediately preceding period, usually a fiscal quarter.
a sequential increase in gross profit.
adjective
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characterized by or having a regular sequence
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another word for sequent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sequential
Explanation
Use the word sequential to describe something that has a particular order, like a recipe for chocolate chip cookies whose steps must be followed in a sequential order. If you make a list of things you need to do, starting with number 1 and continuing until all your tasks are accounted for, then you’ve made a sequential list. Something that is sequential often follows a numerical or alphabetical order, but it can also describe things that aren’t numbered but still need to take place in a logical order, such as the sequential steps you follow for running a program on your computer.
Vocabulary lists containing sequential
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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Expository Writing, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The findings were published in Materials Today in a study titled "A sequential dual-passivation strategy for designing stainless steel used above water oxidation."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
In terms of timeframe, the document we have seen says only that this would happen "in a gradual, sequential, and time-bound manner, based on an implementation schedule to be prepared within 14 days."
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Our year is progressing with expected further sequential improvement in quarterly deliveries, revenues, and gross margin in the back half of fiscal 2026,” executive chairman Jeffrey Mezger said on a Tuesday call discussing its results.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Growth in cloud applications decelerated by 2 percentage points on a sequential basis, to 9%, “keeping the SaaSpocalypse theory alive,” according to Thill.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Lawrence had decreed that the electrical field that delivered the sequential jolts to the spiraling protons should be present only in the gap between the two dees.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.