serial Hear it!

serial definition

se·rial (sirē əl)

adjective

  1. of, arranged in, or forming a series serial numbers
  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
  5. Comput.
    1. of or for the transmission of a byte of data one bit at a time, over a single wire a serial port
    2. having to do with the performing of multiple operations one after the other serial processing
  6. Music
    1. 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
    2. loosely twelve-tone

Etymology: ModL serialis < L series, a row, order, series

noun

    1. a novel, story, film, etc. published or presented in serial form
    2. any of the separate parts or episodes
  1. a periodical publication

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

serial Synonyms

serial

modif.

consecutive, successive, ensuing, following, continued, continual, continuing, on-going.


serial

n.

installment, serial picture, continued story, series, weekly program; see also movie.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

serial Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • hold: SUNCAT is now the most comprehensive source of information about the location of serials held in libraries throughout the UK.

Adjective modifier

  • electronic: Do a Keyword search for ' electronic serial counseling ' .

Modifies a noun

  • killer: For there is a serial killer loose upon the streets of Toy City.

Noun used with modifier

  • 9-pin: I need to know that correct device name for the 9-pin serial port.
serial usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

serial quotes

An autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing.

-Crisp, Quentin

serial quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"serial." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/serial>

APA Style

serial. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/serial

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