serial

American  

[seer-ee-uhl] / ˈsɪər i əl /

noun

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.

---

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

---

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

• nonserial
  noun
• nonserially
  adverb
• serially
  adverb

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

His 2008 debut, “The Chaser,” found new febrility in the post-Fincher serial killer thriller.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

"Celebrity Traitors managed to turn Alan Carr into a manipulative serial killer," host Greg Davies deadpanned, adding: "We all know he's a good person".

From BBC • May 10, 2026

I had been a serial apartment dweller with limited outdoor space, so I never knew the color of my thumbs.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur with a notable track record as a Wall Street investor and business builder.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

He endured the “whirl of noise and motion,” as Dickens characterized London in his then-current serial, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, which everyone was gobbling up in Bentley’s Miscellany, a literary magazine.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• sequential