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
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 (such as a newspaper or journal) issued as one of a consecutively numbered and indefinitely continued series
Examples of serial in a Sentence
Adjective
The pictures are numbered and arranged in serial order.
Scientists made serial observations over a period of two weeks.
Noun
the university library has a vast collection of serials
Recent Examples on the Web
Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 29 May 2025
The song will serve as the opening theme song for Smoke, a series about a detective and an arson investigator in pursuit of a pair of serial arsonists.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2025
Lynette Rice, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
The internal cable interface has changed over the years from serial to IDE (now frequently called Parallel ATA, or PATA) to SCSI to Serial ATA (SATA).
—PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for serial
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Adjective
The streamer has greenlit a drama starring Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Graham that tracks the face-off between a homicide detective and a serial killer.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 29 May 2025
The song will serve as the opening theme song for Smoke, a series about a detective and an arson investigator in pursuit of a pair of serial arsonists.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 29 May 2025
Noun
The re-up keeps the serial, which launched in 1987, on the network through its 41st year in 2027-28.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
The internal cable interface has changed over the years from serial to IDE (now frequently called Parallel ATA, or PATA) to SCSI to Serial ATA (SATA).
—PC Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for serial
Cite this Entry
“Serial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serial. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
serial
1 of 2 adjective
se·ri·al
ˈsir-ē-əl 
1
: consisting of or arranged in a series, rank, or row
serial order
2
: appearing in parts or numbers that follow regularly
a serial story
3
: being or relating to a connection in a computer system in which the bits of a byte are transmitted one at a time over a single wire
serial
2 of 2 noun1
: a work appearing (as in a magazine or on television) in parts at regular intervals
2
: one part of a serial work
serialist
noun
ˈsir-ē-ə-ləst
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