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.
Synonyms: drama, series, soap [informal], sitcom [informal] More Synonyms of serial
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
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.
...serial murders.
The serial killer claimed to have killed 400 people.
serial in British English
(ˈsɪərɪəl)
noun
1.
a novel, play, etc, presented in separate instalments at regular intervals
2.
a publication, usually regularly issued and consecutively numbered
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
6. computing
of or operating on items of information, instructions, etc, in the order in which they occur
Compare parallel (sense 5)
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 ordering
Derived forms
serially (ˈserially)
adverb
Word origin
C19: from New Latin seriālis, from Latin seriēsseries
serial in American English
(ˈsɪriəl)
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. Computing
a.
of or for the transmission of a byte of data one bit at a time, over a single wire
a serial port
b.
having to do with the performing of multiple operations one after the other
serial processing
see also parallel (sense 4)
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
b. Loosely
twelve-tone
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
Derived forms
serially (ˈserially)
adverb
Word origin
ModL serialis < L series, a row, order, series
Examples of 'serial' in a sentence
serial
Middlemarch begins serial publication in eight parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The serial numbers had been filed off to make it hard to trace.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It meant he was not seen as a serial attacker.
The Sun (2009)
Genuine ones also have a serial number inside.
The Sun (2016)
At the end a master tape was removed and sealed with a unique serial number.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The BBC1 show picked up most popular serial drama at the ceremony last night.
The Sun (2008)
But when completed, it proved too long for serial publication.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
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
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
Latin American Spanish: serial
Swedish: serie
Thai: เรื่องที่เป็นตอนๆ
Turkish: seri
Ukrainian: серіал
Vietnamese: truyện phát hành nhiều kỳ
British English: serial ADJECTIVE
Serial killings or attacks are a series of killings or attacks committed by the same person.
...serial murders.
American English: serial
Brazilian Portuguese: serial
Chinese: 连续的
European Spanish: en serie
French: en série
German: Serien-
Italian: in serie
Japanese: 連続の
Korean: 연쇄의
European Portuguese: em série
Latin American Spanish: en serie
All related terms of 'serial'
serial port
A serial port on a computer is a place where you can connect the computer to a device such as a modem or a mouse.
serial bonds
Serial bonds are bonds that are issued at the same time but have staggered maturity dates.
serial comma
See series comma
serial killer
a person who carries out a series of murders
serial murder
multiple killings or murders carried out by the same person or persons
serial number
The serial number of an object is a number on that object which identifies it.
serial rapist
someone who carries out a series of rapes
serial rights
the rights to reprint or publish a serial or as a serial
serial writer
someone who writes novels , dramas , etc, presented in separate instalments at regular intervals
serial killing
multiple killings or murders carried out by the same person or persons
serial monogamy
the practice of having a number of long-term romantic or sexual partners in succession
serial offender
An offender is a person who has committed a crime.
serial correlation
the condition occurring when successive items in a series are correlated so that their covariance is not zero and they are not independent
series comma
a comma used after the next-to-last item in a series of three or more items when the next-to-last and last items are separated by a conjunction . In the series A, B , C, or D , the comma after C is the series comma
autocorrelation
the condition occurring when successive items in a series are correlated so that their covariance is not zero and they are not independent