Definition of 'serial'
Word forms: serials
1. countable noun
A serial is a story which is broadcast on television or radio or is published in a magazine
or newspaper in a number of parts over a period of time.
2. adjective [ADJ n]
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
serial
Word Frequency
serial in American English
adjective
2.
appearing, published, issued, etc. in a series or succession of continuous parts at regular intervals
3.
of a serial or serials
serial rights to a novel
4.
committing an act, usually a criminal act, repeatedly and, typically, compulsively
a serial murderer
6. Music
a.
designating or of a technique of composition in which various components of music, as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, etc., are arranged in an arbitrary order (a row or set) which serves as a basis for development
noun
7.
a.
a novel, story, film, etc. published or presented in serial form
b.
any of the separate parts or episodes
8.
a periodical publication
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
serially (ˈserially)
adverb
Word Frequency
serial in British English
adjective
3.
of, relating to, or resembling a series
4.
published or presented as a serial
5.
of or relating to such publication or presentation
7.
of, relating to, or using the techniques of serialism
8. logic, mathematics
(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 orderingCollins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
serially (ˈserially) adverb
Word origin
C19: from New Latin seriālis, from Latin seriēs seriesExamples of 'serial' in a sentence
serial
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In other languages
serial
British English: serial
/ˈsɪərɪəl/ NOUN
A serial is a story which is broadcast or published in a number of parts over a period of time.
...a popular radio serial.
- American English: serial /ˈsɪəriəl/
- Arabic: مُسَلْسَل
- Brazilian Portuguese: publicação em série
- Chinese: 连载
- Croatian: serija
- Czech: seriál
- Danish: serie
- Dutch: serie
- European Spanish: serial
- Finnish: jatkokertomus
- French: feuilleton
- German: Serie Radio, Fernsehen
- Greek: σίριαλ
- Italian: seriale
- Japanese: 連続もの
- Korean: 연재물
- Norwegian: serie
- Polish: serial
- European Portuguese: publicação em série
- Romanian: serial
- Russian: сериал
- Spanish: serial
- Swedish: serie
- Thai: ละครชุด, รายการซึ่งมีหลายตอน
- Turkish: seri
- Ukrainian: серіал
- Vietnamese: truyện phát hành nhiều kỳ
British English: serial
ADJECTIVE /ˈsɪərɪəl/
Serial killings or attacks are a series of killings or attacks committed by the same person.
...serial murders.
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serial
Related terms of
serial
Source
Definition of serial from the Collins English Dictionary
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