serial

American  

[seer-ee-uhl] / ˈsɪər i əl /

noun

• serials
  plural

1. anything published, broadcast, etc., in short installments at regular intervals, as a novel appearing in successive issues of a magazine.

2. Library Science. a publication in any medium issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designation and intended to be continued indefinitely.

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adjective

1. published in installments or successive parts.

   a serial story.

2. pertaining to such publication.

3. pertaining to, arranged in, or consisting of a series.

4. occurring in a series rather than simultaneously.

   serial marriage; serial murders.

5. effecting or producing a series of similar actions.

   The police think a serial killer is responsible for five homicides in this city last month.

6. Computers.

   1. of or relating to the apparent or actual performance of data-processing operations one at a time (distinguished from parallel).

   2. of or relating to the transmission or processing of each part of a whole in sequence, as each bit of a byte or each byte of a computer word (distinguished from parallel).

7. Music. of, relating to, or composed in serial technique.

serial British  

/ ˈsɪərɪəl /

noun

1. a novel, play, etc, presented in separate instalments at regular intervals

2. a publication, usually regularly issued and consecutively numbered

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a series

2. published or presented as a serial

3. of or relating to such publication or presentation

4. computing of or operating on items of information, instructions, etc, in the order in which they occur Compare parallel

5. of, relating to, or using the techniques of serialism

6. logic maths (of a relation) connected, transitive, and asymmetric, thereby imposing an order on all the members of the domain, as less than on the natural numbers See also ordering

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonserial
  noun
• nonserially
  adverb
• serially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• serials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of serial

From the New Latin word seriālis, dating back to 1835–45. See series, -al ¹

Explanation

Serial means arranged in a series. If you get a serial number with your new phone, that's a number assigned to the phone when it was made, to distinguish it from all the other phones. Serial has nothing do to with breakfast (that's cereal). It means "in regular succession." If you make a deposit into your savings every week without fail, those are serial payments. You might not recognize grandma after her serial plastic surgeries. A serial killer kills multiple times in similar ways. If you publish a magazine that comes out periodically, you could call it a serial. And your favorite recurring show on TV is a serial too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

serial serials

“They traced it back to him from the serial number.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

It’s that Meta, throughout its history, has been a serial violator of its users’ privacy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

He is a serial entrepreneur who recently founded a mental health initiative and brand called ENOUGH.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

"For now, it's not something which we can overrule to say there's a serial killer, but we cannot conclusively indicate as such," Lt Gen Mthombeni said.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

I took out pencil and paper and wrote down my name, rank, serial number, and A.P.O. number.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

South Africa's defence department said the navies were gathering "for an intensive programme of joint maritime safety operations, interoperability drills and maritime protection serials".

From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026

So like the serials of the silent era, we’re left, for the moment at least, with a cliffhanger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025

Much like the old serials that the new Indiana Jones movie is mimicking.

From Slate ● Jul. 5, 2023

Squashing its programming into Max, along with ghost hunters and home improvement serials, won’t immediately affect HBO originals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2023

The serials are the best part of the paper, anyhow.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• sequential