Adjacent Words

serial definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: in regular succession without gaps; "serial concerts" [syn: consecutive, sequent, sequential, serial, successive]
2: pertaining to or composed in serial technique; "serial music"
3: pertaining to or occurring in or producing a series; "serial monogamy"; "serial killing"; "a serial killer"; "serial publication"
4: of or relating to the sequential performance of multiple operations; "serial processing" [syn: serial, in series, nonparallel] n
1: a serialized set of programs; "a comedy series"; "the Masterworks concert series" [syn: serial, series]
2: a periodical that appears at scheduled times [syn: series, serial, serial publication]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: 1840 1. of, relating to, consisting of, or arranged in a series, rank, or row <serial order> 2. appearing in successive parts or numbers <a serial story> 3. belonging to a series maturing periodically rather than on a single date <serial bonds> 4. of, relating to, or being music based on a series of tones in a chosen pattern without regard for traditional tonality 5. a. performing a series of similar acts over a period of time <a serial killer> b. occurring in or involving such a series <a serial murder> 6. relating to or being a connection in a computer system in which the bits of a byte are transmitted sequentially over a single wire — compare parallel • serially adverb II. noun Date: 1846 1. a. a work appearing (as in a magazine or on television) in parts at intervals b. one part of a serial work ; installment 2. a publication (as a newspaper or journal) issued as one of a consecutively numbered and indefinitely continued series

U.S. Military Dictionary

1. An element or a group of elements within a series which is given a numerical or alphabetical designation for convenience in planning, scheduling, and control. 2. A serial can be a group of people, vehicles, equipment, or supplies and is used in airborne, air assault, amphibious operations, and convoys. (JP 3-02)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a story, play, or film which is published, broadcast, or shown in regular instalments. 2 a periodical. --adj. 1 of or in or forming a series. 2 (of a story etc.) in the form of a serial. 3 Mus. using transformations of a fixed series of notes (see SERIES). 4 (of a publication) appearing in successive parts published usu. at regular intervals, periodical. Phrases and idioms: serial killer a person who murders continuously with no apparent motive. serial number a number showing the position of an item in a series. serial rights the right to publish a story or book as a serial. Derivatives: seriality n. serially adv. Etymology: SERIES + -AL

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Serial Se"ri*al, a. 1. Of or pertaining to a series; consisting of a series; appearing in successive parts or numbers; as, a serial work or publication. ``Classification . . . may be more or less serial.'' --H. Spencer. 2. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to rows. --Gray. Serial homology. (Biol.) See under Homology. Serial symmetry. (Biol.) See under Symmetry.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Serial Se"ri*al, n. A publication appearing in a series or succession of part; a tale, or other writing, published in successive numbers of a periodical.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(serials) 1. 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. ...one of BBC television's most popular serials, Eastenders... Maupin's novels have all appeared originally as serials. N-COUNT 2. Serial killings or attacks are a series of killings or attacks committed by the same person. This person is known as a serial killer or attacker. The serial killer claimed to have killed 400 people. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Successive, consecutive, continuous, continued. II. n. Periodical.

Moby Thesaurus

Grand Guignol, Passion play, Tom show, alternate, annual, antimasque, article, audience success, ballet, beating, best seller, bimonthly, biweekly, bomb, book, bound book, broadcast, broadcast drama, burlesque show, canned show, catenary, chapter, charade, circling, classic, clause, cliff hanger, closet drama, coloring book, column, comedy drama, commercial, commercial program, connected, consecutive, consistent, continuous, critical success, cyclic, daily, daybook, daytime serial, definitive work, dialogue, diary, documentary drama, drama, dramalogue, dramatic play, dramatic series, duodrama, duologue, editorial, electrical transcription, ephemeris, epic theater, epochal, even, every other, experimental theater, extravaganza, failure, fascicle, flop, folio, fortnightly, gasser, gazette, giveaway, great work, happening, hardback, hit, hit show, improvisational drama, installment, intermittent, isochronal, joined, journal, journalese, journalistic, juvenile, juvenile book, legitimate drama, limp-cover book, lineal, linear, livraison, magazine, magazinish, magaziny, magnum opus, masque, measured, melodrama, metronomic, minstrel show, miracle, miracle play, monodrama, monologue, monthly, morality, morality play, music drama, musical revue, mystery, mystery play, network show, newscast, newsmagazine, newspaperish, newspapery, nonbook, notebook, novel, opera, opus, opuscule, opusculum, orderly, ordinal, organ, oscillatory, pageant, panel show, pantomime, paperback, paragraph, part, passage, pastoral, pastoral drama, periodical, phrase, pictorial, picture book, piece, play, playbook, playlet, pocket book, prayer book, problem play, production, progressive, psalmbook, psalter, psychodrama, publication, pulsing, quarterly, quiz show, radio drama, radio fare, radiobroadcast, rebroadcast, reciprocal, recurrent, recurring, reportorial, rerun, review, revue, rhythmic, rotary, seasonal, section, sensational play, sequent, sequential, seriate, show, sitcom, situation comedy, sketch, sketchbook, skit, slick magazine, soap, soap opera, sociodrama, soft-cover, songbook, sound effects, spectacle, sportscast, stage play, stage show, standard work, steady, storybook, straight drama, subsequent, succeeding, success, successional, successive, suspense drama, sustainer, tableau, tableau vivant, talk show, taped program, teleplay, television drama, television play, theater of cruelty, tight, title, tome, total theater, trade book, trade magazine, undulant, undulatory, uninterrupted, variety show, vaudeville, vaudeville show, vehicle, verse, volume, wavelike, weekly, wheeling, word-of-mouth success, work, writing, yearbook