serial

[ seer-ee-uh l ]

/ ˈsɪər i əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR serial ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

adjective

published in installments or successive parts: a serial story.

pertaining to such publication.

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

occurring in a series rather than simultaneously: serial marriage; serial murders.

effecting or producing a series of similar actions: The police think a serial killer is responsible for five homicides in this city last month.

Computers.

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

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

Nearby words

sergius iii, sergius iv, sergiyev posad, sergt, seri, serial, serial correlation, serial extraction, serial killer, serial monogamy, serial number

Origin of serial

From the New Latin word seriālis, dating back to 1835–45. See series, -al¹

Related formsse·ri·al·ly, adverbnon·se·ri·al, noun, adjectivenon·se·ri·al·ly, adverb

Can be confusedcereal serial

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

Examples from the Web for serial

But when a serial sex predator is playing fanboy, the gag reflex kicks in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Hell, he says Koenig never referred to it as Serial or even as a podcast.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline|Emily Shire|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In all fairness to Jay, he told The Intercept that he never expected to be a major figure in Serial.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline|Emily Shire|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Interviews in Serial (including ones from Adnan) do acknowledge that Jay was known as a resident bad boy at Woodlawn High School.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline|Emily Shire|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We began a journey with Koenig in the first episode of Serial.
Adnan Killed Her! No, Jay Did It! Serial’s Uncertain, True-to-Reality End|Emily Shire|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With the opening installment of the first serial the Free Press published a photograph of the author over a stickful of biography.
The Fiction Factory|John Milton Edwards
There are some amusing things connected with the publication in serial form of these episodes.
A Little Book for Christmas|Cyrus Townsend Brady
I notice that there are numbers on each of these papers with 10 serial numbers each.
Warren Commission (7 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
When a relation is serial its relation-number is often called its serial type.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 7|Various
It can be told in a few words although the narrative of its exploitations remains a serial without end.
An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson

British Dictionary definitions for serial

serial

/ (ˈsɪərɪəl) /

noun

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

a publication, usually regularly issued and consecutively numbered

adjective

of, relating to, or resembling a series

published or presented as a serial

of or relating to such publication or presentation

computing of or operating on items of information, instructions, etc, in the order in which they occurCompare parallel (def. 5)

of, relating to, or using the techniques of serialism

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 numbersSee also ordering

Derived Formsserially, adverb

Word Origin for serial

C19: from New Latin seriālis, from Latin seriēs series

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

Word Origin and History for serial (1 of 2)

serial

adj.

"coming in regular succession," 1840, from series + -al (1); popularized in reference to Dickens' novels, published one part at a time in periodicals (as opposed to all at once in a book). Found to be a useful word and given wide application. Serial number, indicating position in a series, first recorded 1866, originally of papers, packages, etc.; of soldiers from 1918. Serial killer is first attested 1981 (in relation to John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy), though serial had been used in connection with murders since the early 1960s. Related: Serially.

Word Origin and History for serial (1 of 2)

serial

1846, from serial (adj.).

serial

noun

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of serial

Examples from the Web for serial

British Dictionary definitions for serial

serial

noun

adjective

Word Origin for serial

Word Origin and History for serial (1 of 2)

serial

Word Origin and History for serial (1 of 2)

serial