serial

10 definitions • 14 examples

used to describe a person who repeatedly commits a similar crime or carries out a similar bad act, or the crime or act itself:

serial killer She wrote a thriller about a brutal serial killer.

serial offender He was a serial offender with more than 50 convictions.

a serial adulterer/womanizer

serial murders/killings

broadcast or published in several separate parts, one after another:

serial drama She is currently filming a serial drama for the BBC.

serial novel Dickens is best known for the serial novel "A Christmas Carol" which was published over a series of months.

sending information one bit (= unit of information) at a time:

serial cable Older systems used a serial cable to connect the computer to the external monitor.

serial communication The headset plugs into a USB serial communication port.

arranged one after another:

He had difficulty in remembering the serial order of the tasks.

a story on television or radio or in a newspaper, etc. that is broadcast or printed in separate parts:

television serial Most of her novels have been made into television serials at some time.

happening one after another in time or order:

She’s the librarian in charge of serial publications (= magazines, newspapers, etc., that appear at regular periods).

a story printed in a newspaper or magazine or broadcast on television or radio in several parts

used to describe something that is done in a series:

The novels were first published in serial form.

used to describe someone who does something several times:

A serial litigant earned thousands of pounds by claiming ageism.

used to describe computer data that is sent one unit at a time:

Serial data transmission implies that one bit is sent after another.