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
Derived 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.
Food inflation likely edged higher, although average daily food prices of major items showed only a slight sequential rise in prices, said economist Dhiraj Nim.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Ramaswamy said Snowflake delivered a “milestone quarter,” as product revenue marked “the strongest sequential dollar growth in our history.”
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
The U.S. segment had a positive quarter due mainly to lower expenses and sequential growth in commercial loans.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Unlike turn-based games that progress with sequential, alternating moves, “StarCraft” has a high degree of complexity that makes it well-suited to training machine intelligence.
From MarketWatch • May 23, 2026
The question of how sequential genetic circuits can “actualize” the development of an organism is addressed in a subsequent chapter.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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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.