A sequenceof events or things is a number of events or things that come one after another in a particular order.
...the sequence of events which led to the murder. [+ of]
...a dazzling sequence of novels by John Updike. [+ of]
Synonyms: succession, course, series, order More Synonyms of sequence
2. countable noun
A particular sequence is a particular order in which things happen or are arranged.
...the colour sequence yellow, orange, purple, blue, green and white.
The chronological sequence gives the book an element of structure.
Synonyms: order, structure, arrangement, ordering More Synonyms of sequence
3. countable noun
A film sequence is a part of a film that shows a single set of actions.
The best sequence in the film occurs when Roth stops at a house he used to live in.
Synonyms: part, scene, section, episode More Synonyms of sequence
4. countable noun
A gene sequence or a DNA sequence is the order in which the elements making up a particular gene are combined.
The project is nothing less than mapping every gene sequence in the human body.
...the complete DNA sequence of the human genome. [+ of]
5. verb
To sequence genes is to determine the order in which the elements that make them up are combined.
The technique offers a means of sequencing the human genome much more quickly. [VERB noun]
sequencinguncountable noun
DNA sequencing has become more advanced.
sequence in British English
(ˈsiːkwəns)
noun
1.
an arrangement of two or more things in a successive order
2.
the successive order of two or more things
chronological sequence
3.
a sequentially ordered set of related things or ideas
4.
an action or event that follows another or others
5.
a. cards
a set of three or more consecutive cards, usually of the same suit
b. bridge
a set of two or more consecutive cards
6. music
an arrangement of notes or chords repeated several times at different pitches
7. mathematics
a.
an ordered set of numbers or other mathematical entities in one-to-one correspondence with the integers 1 to n
b.
an ordered infinite set of mathematical entities in one-to-one correspondence with the natural numbers
8.
a section of a film constituting a single continuous uninterrupted episode
9. biochemistry
the unique order of amino acids in the polypeptide chain of a protein or of nucleotides in the polynucleotide chain of DNA or RNA
10. Roman Catholic Church another word for prose (sense 4)
verb(transitive)
11.
to arrange in a sequence
12. biochemistry
to determine the order of the units comprising (a protein, nucleic acid, genome, etc)
Word origin
C14: from Medieval Latin sequentia that which follows, from Latin sequī to follow
sequence in American English
(ˈsikwəns; ˈsiˌkwɛns)
noun
1.
a.
the following of one thing after another in chronological, causal, or logical order; succession or continuity
b.
the order in which this occurs
2.
a continuous or related series, often of uniform things
a sonnet sequence
3.
three or more playing cards in unbroken order in the same suit; run
4.
a resulting event; consequence; sequel
5. Biochemistry
the linear order of bases in a nucleic acid or of amino acids in a protein
6. Ancient Mathematics
an ordered set of quantities or elements
7. Cinema
a succession of scenes constituting a single, uninterrupted episode
8. Music
the repetition of a melodic pattern in the same voice part but at different pitch levels
9. Roman CatholicChurch
a hymn coming immediately before the Gospel in certain Masses
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈsequenced or ˈsequencing
10.
to arrange in a sequence; put in order
11. Biochemistry
to find the unique order of (structural units of a gene, protein, etc.) by chemical analysis
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈseries
Word origin
MFr < LL, a following < L sequens: see sequent; (sense 9) ME < ML sequentia < LL(Ec), used as transl. of Gr(Ec) akolouthia, a succession of notes on the last syllable of the alleluia: see acolyte
Examples of 'sequence' in a sentence
sequence
For some reason, it had ended up out of sequence among the Prague photographs.
Val McDermid THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)
Presumably it means that Follows wasn't the next in sequence.
Anthony Masters CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2002)
Sometimes they formed a sequence, sometimes they seemed to have no apparent connection.
Harcourt, Palma A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE (2002)
Rumor filtered up the line during the rest, one group talking to another next in sequence.
C.J. Cherryh HAMMERFALL (2002)
In other languages
sequence
British English: sequence /ˈsiːkwəns/ NOUN
A sequence of things is a number of them that come one after another in a particular order.
This sequence of events led to the accident.
American English: sequence
Arabic: تَسَلْسُل
Brazilian Portuguese: sequência
Chinese: 顺序
Croatian: slijed
Czech: pořadí
Danish: sekvens
Dutch: volgorde
European Spanish: secuencia
Finnish: järjestys
French: succession
German: Reihe
Greek: αλληλουχία
Italian: sequenza
Japanese: 順序
Korean: 차례
Norwegian: sekvens
Polish: sekwencja
European Portuguese: sequência
Romanian: înșiruire
Russian: последовательность
Latin American Spanish: secuencia
Swedish: sekvens
Thai: ลำดับ
Turkish: dizi
Ukrainian: послідовність
Vietnamese: chuỗi
All related terms of 'sequence'
DNA sequence
the order of base pairs in a section of DNA
film sequence
a short piece of film or extract from a film, depicting a specific action or event
gene sequence
the arrangement of the nucleotides of a particular gene
main sequence
a diagonal band on the Hertzsprung Russell diagram containing about 90% of all known stars; stars evolve onto and then off the band during their lifetime
Farey sequence
the increasing sequence of fractions in which numerator and denominator have no common divisor other than one and in which the denominator is less than or equal to a given positive integer p . For p = 4, the Farey sequence of order 4 is 0 ⁄ 1 , 1 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 3 , 1 ⁄ 2 , 2 ⁄ 3 , 3 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 1
polar sequence
a series of stars in the vicinity of the N celestial pole whose accurately determined magnitudes serve as the standard for visual and photographic magnitudes of stars
sonnet sequence
a group of sonnets composed by one poet and having a unifying theme or subject
consensus sequence
a DNA sequence common to different organisms and having a similar function in each
Fibonacci sequence
the infinite sequence of numbers, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc, in which each member ( Fibonacci number ) is the sum of the previous two
main-sequence star
any luminosity class V star , such as the sun, lying in the main sequence of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
sequence of tenses
the sequence according to which the tense of a subordinate verb in a sentence is determined by the tense of the principal verb, as in I believe he is lying , I believed he was lying, etc
amino acid sequence
the unique sequence of amino acids that characterizes a given protein
modern sequence dancing
a form of dancing in which ballroom dance steps are used as the basis of a wide variety of different dances typically performed in a sequence
insertion element
a section of DNA that is capable of becoming inserted into another chromosome
dwarf star
any luminosity class V star , such as the sun, lying in the main sequence of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
Chinese translation of 'sequence'
sequence
(ˈsiːkwəns)
n(c)
(= series) 一连(連)串 (yīliánchuàn)
(= order) 顺(順)序 (shùnxù)
(Cine) 连(連)续(續)镜(鏡)头(頭) (liánxù jìngtóu)
sequence of events一连(連)串事件 (yīliánchuàn shìjiàn)
in sequence按顺(順)序 (àn shùnxù)
1 (noun)
Definition
an arrangement of two or more things in a successive order
the sequence of events that led to the murder
Synonyms
succession
He took a succession of jobs which have stood him in good stead.
course
a series of naval battles which altered the course of history
series
a series of explosions
order
chain
a horrific chain of events
cycle
arrangement
procession
a seemingly endless procession of corruption cases
progression
the steady progression of events in my life
2 (noun)
Definition
the successive order of two or more things
The chronological sequence gives the book an element of structure.
Synonyms
order
List the key headings and sort them in a logical order.
structure
The chemical structure of this particular molecule is very unusual.
arrangement
an imaginative flower arrangement
ordering
placement
The treatment involves the placement of electrodes in the inner ear.
layout
He tried to recall the layout of the farmhouse.
progression
3 (noun)
Definition
a section of a film forming a single uninterrupted episode
the best sequence in the film
Synonyms
part
He works in a different part of the company.
scene
She was told to cut some scenes from her new series.
section
a geological section of a rock
episode
The final episode will be shown next Saturday.
extract
He read us an extract from his latest novel.
excerpt
an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's `Nutcracker'
clip
an historical film clip of Lenin speaking
Additional synonyms
in the sense of arrangement
Definition
the form in which things are arranged
an imaginative flower arrangement
Synonyms
display,
grouping,
system,
order,
ordering,
design,
ranging,
structure,
rank,
organization,
exhibition,
line-up,
presentation,
array,
marshalling,
classification,
disposition (archaic),
alignment,
setup (informal)
in the sense of chain
Definition
a series of connected facts or events
a horrific chain of events
Synonyms
series,
set,
train,
string,
sequence,
succession,
progression,
concatenation
in the sense of clip
Definition
a short extract from a film
an historical film clip of Lenin speaking
Synonyms
extract,
scene,
selection,
excerpt,
snippet
Synonyms of 'sequence'
sequence
Explore 'sequence' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of course
Definition
an onward movement in time or space
a series of naval battles which altered the course of history
Synonyms
progression,
order,
unfolding,
development,
movement,
advance,
progress,
flow,
sequence,
succession,
continuity,
advancement,
furtherance,
march
in the sense of episode
Definition
any of the sections into which a novel or a television or radio serial is divided
The final episode will be shown next Saturday.
Synonyms
instalment,
part,
act,
scene,
section,
chapter,
passage,
webisode
in the sense of excerpt
Definition
a passage taken from a book, speech, etc.
an excerpt from Tchaikovsky's `Nutcracker'
Synonyms
extract,
part,
piece,
section,
selection,
passage,
portion,
fragment,
quotation,
citation,
pericope
in the sense of extract
Definition
something extracted, such as a passage from a book, etc.
He read us an extract from his latest novel.
Synonyms
passage,
selection,
excerpt,
cutting,
clipping,
abstract,
quotation,
citation
in the sense of layout
Definition
the arrangement or plan of something, such as a building
He tried to recall the layout of the farmhouse.
Synonyms
arrangement,
design,
draft,
outline,
format,
plan,
formation,
geography
in the sense of placement
Definition
arrangement or position
The treatment involves the placement of electrodes in the inner ear.
Synonyms
positioning,
stationing,
arrangement,
location,
ordering,
distribution,
locating,
installation,
deployment,
disposition (archaic),
emplacement
in the sense of procession
a seemingly endless procession of corruption cases
Synonyms
sequence,
run,
course,
train,
series,
cycle,
string,
succession
in the sense of progression
Definition
a sequence of numbers in which each term differs from the succeeding term by a fixed ratio
the steady progression of events in my life
Synonyms
sequence,
course,
order,
series,
chain,
cycle,
string,
succession
in the sense of scene
Definition
a shot or series of shots that constitutes a unit of the action
She was told to cut some scenes from her new series.
Synonyms
section,
part,
sequence,
segment,
clip
in the sense of section
Definition
a part cut off or separated from the main body of something
a geological section of a rock
Synonyms
part,
piece,
portion,
division,
sample,
slice,
passage,
component,
segment,
fragment,
fraction,
instalment,
cross section,
subdivision
Additional synonyms
in the sense of series
Definition
a group or succession of related things
a series of explosions
Synonyms
sequence,
course,
chain,
succession,
run,
set,
line,
order,
train,
arrangement,
string,
progression
in the sense of structure
Definition
the way the individual parts of something are made, built, or organized into a whole
The chemical structure of this particular molecule is very unusual.