Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, forming, or arranged in a series.
  • adjective Published or produced in installments, as a novel or television drama.
  • adjective Relating to such publication or production.
  • adjective Relating to or engaging in a series of similar acts or behaviors.
  • adjective Music Relating to or based on a row of tones, especially the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale.
  • adjective Of or relating to the sequential transmission of all the bits of a byte over one wire.
  • adjective Of or relating to the sequential performance of multiple operations.
  • noun A literary or dramatic work published or produced in installments.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Arranged or disposed in a series, rank, or row, as several like things set one after another; placed seriatim; successive, as beads on a string. Also seriate.
  • Characterized by or exhibiting serial arrangement; having the nature or quality of a series; of or pertaining to series: as, serial homology (see homology).
  • Published at regularly recurring or successive times; periodical, as a publication; pertaining to a serial.
  • noun A tale or other composition published in successive numbers of a periodical.
  • noun A work or publication issued in successive numbers; a periodical.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A publication appearing in a series or succession of part; a tale, or other writing, published in successive numbers of a periodical.
  • adjective Of or pertaining to a series; consisting of a series; appearing in successive parts or numbers.
  • adjective (Bot.) Of or pertaining to rows.
  • adjective (Biol.) See under Homology.
  • adjective (Biol.) See under Symmetry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having to do with or arranged in a series.
  • adjective Published or produced in installments.
  • noun A work, as a work of fiction, published in installments, often numbered and without a specified end.
  • noun computing, slang A serial number required to activate software.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a periodical that appears at scheduled times
  • adjective pertaining to or composed in serial technique
  • adjective in regular succession without gaps
  • noun a serialized set of programs
  • adjective of or relating to the sequential performance of multiple operations
  • adjective pertaining to or occurring in or producing a series

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1840, in reference to the books of Charles Dickens (published in sequential parts, as a series). Formed as series +‎ -al, on model of Latin seriālis, from seriēs + -ālis.

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Examples

  • Trans have code numbers and serial numbers the numbers for the one i put in are550 serial# cd-68-330746?

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2010

  • Trans have code numbers and serial numbers the numbers for the one i put in are550 serial# cd-68-330746?

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2010

  • DriveGet, serial, serial, % drv%; volume serial number msgbox, Drive = % drv% ` nNAME = % drivename% ` nStatus = % status% ` nType = % type% ` nCapacity = % cap% ` nFree = % free% ` nFAT = % fs% ` nSerialNumber = % serial%

    AutoHotkey Community 2009

  • Langton disliked using the term serial killer and mentioned it only once, but during the questioning the journalists were quick to bring up the Ripper murder case.

    Above Suspicion Lynda La Plante 2004

  • Langton disliked using the term serial killer and mentioned it only once, but during the questioning the journalists were quick to bring up the Ripper murder case.

    Above Suspicion Lynda La Plante 2004

  • They're very hesitant to use the term serial killer.

    CNN Transcript Dec 19, 2006 2006

  • I mean, are you using the term serial killer at this point?

    CNN Transcript Sep 6, 2004 2004

  • COOPER: I talked to the captain in charge of this the other -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- last night, who said that, I mean, they're not using the term serial killer yet.

    CNN Transcript Sep 7, 2004 2004

  • We're probably all familiar with the term serial killer, mass murderer and spree killer.

    CNN Transcript Oct 19, 2002 2002

  • If the term serial entrepreneur suggests something a bit sinister, it's not without good reason-one does have to be a little crazy to start two, three, or as many as seven companies.

    Inc.com Eric Markowitz 2010

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