series

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

se·ries

(sîr′ēz)

n. pl. series

1. A number of objects or events arranged or coming one after the other in succession.

2. A set of stamps, coins, or currency issued in a particular period.

3. Physics & Chemistry A group of objects related by linearly varying successive differences in form or configuration: a radioactive decay series; the paraffin alkane series.

4. Mathematics The sum of a sequentially ordered finite or infinite set of terms.

5. Geology A group of rock formations closely related in time of origin and distinct as a group from other formations.

6. Grammar A succession of coordinate elements in a sentence.

a. A succession of publications that present an extended narrative, such as a comic book series, or that have similar subjects or similar formats, such as a series of cookbooks.

b. A succession of individual programs presented as parts of a unified whole, such as the set of episodes of a television show or a podcast.

a. Sports A number of games played by the same two teams, often in succession.

b. Baseball The World Series.

9. Linguistics A set of vowels or diphthongs related by ablaut, as in sing, sang, sung, and song.

Idiom:

in series

In an arrangement that forms a series.

[Latin seriēs, from serere, to join; see ser- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: series , chain , progression , sequence , string , succession
These nouns denote a number of things placed or occurring one after the other: a series of days, a series of facts; a chain of command, a chain of proof; a progression of courses toward a degree, a progression of prime numbers; a sequence of a chemical reactions, the sequence of events leading to the accident; a string of islands, a string of questions; a succession of failures, a succession of actors auditioning for the play.

Usage Note: Series is both a singular and a plural form. When it has the singular sense of "one set," it takes a singular verb, even when series is followed by of and a plural noun: A series of lectures is scheduled. When it has the plural sense of "two or more sets," it takes a plural verb: Two series of lectures are scheduled: one for experts and one for laypeople.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

series

(ˈsɪəriːz; -rɪz)

n, pl -ries

1. a group or connected succession of similar or related things, usually arranged in order

2. (Broadcasting) a set of radio or television programmes having the same characters and setting but different stories

3. (Journalism & Publishing) a set of books having the same format, related content, etc, published by one firm

4. a set of stamps, coins, etc, issued at a particular time

5. (Mathematics) maths the sum of a finite or infinite sequence of numbers or quantities. See also geometric series

6. (Electronics) electronics

a. a configuration of two or more components connected in a circuit so that the same current flows in turn through each of them (esp in the phrase in series)

b. (as modifier): a series circuit. Compare parallel¹⁰

7. (Rhetoric) rhetoric a succession of coordinate elements in a sentence

8. (Geological Science) geology a stratigraphical unit that is a subdivision of a system and represents the rocks formed during an epoch

[C17: from Latin: a row, from serere to link]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

se•ries

(ˈsɪər iz)

n., pl. -ries.

1. a group or a number of related or similar things, events, etc., arranged or occurring in temporal, spatial, or other order or succession; sequence.

2. a number of games, contests, or sporting events, with the same participants, considered as a unit.

3. a set, as of coins or postage stamps.

4. a set of successive volumes or of issues of a periodical published in like form with similarity of subject or purpose.

5. Radio and Television.

a. a daily or weekly program with a set format, a regular cast of characters, and sometimes a continuing story, as a situation comedy or a soap opera.

b. two or more programs related by theme, format, or the like: a series on African wildlife.

6. a sequence of terms combined by addition, as 1 + ½ + ¼ + ? + … + ½ n.

7. a succession of coordinate sentence elements.

8. a division of stratified rocks that is of next higher rank to a stage and next lower rank to a system, comprising deposits formed during part of a geological epoch.

9. an arrangement of an electrical circuit in which the components are connected end-to-end, so that the same current flows through each component.

10. a group of related chemical elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number.

[1605–15; < Latin seriēs; akin to serere to intertwine]

syn: series, sequence, succession are terms for an orderly following of things one after another. series is applied to a number of things of the same kind, usu. related to each other, arranged or happening in order: a series of baseball games. sequence stresses the continuity in time, thought, cause and effect, etc.: The scenes came in a definite sequence. succession implies that one thing is followed by another or others in turn, usu. though not necessarily with a relation or connection between them: a succession of calamities.

se·ries

(sîr′ēz)

Mathematics

The sum of a sequence of terms, for example 2 + 2² + 2³ + 2⁴ + 2⁵ + ...

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Series

a number of things or events linked by some factor. See also chain.

Examples:

series

The rocks formed during a geological epoch.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	series - similar things placed in order or happening one after another; "they were investigating a series of bank robberies" Stations, Stations of the Cross - (Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings representing successive incidents during Jesus' passage from Pilate's house to his crucifixion at Calvary chain, concatenation - a series of things depending on each other as if linked together; "the chain of command"; "a complicated concatenation of circumstances" cordon - a series of sentinels or of military posts enclosing or guarding some place or thing course, line - a connected series of events or actions or developments; "the government took a firm course"; "historians can only point out those lines for which evidence is available" cycle - a series of poems or songs on the same theme; "Schubert's song cycles" electrochemical series, electromotive force series, electromotive series - a serial arrangement of metallic elements or ions according to their electrode potentials determined under specified conditions; the order shows the tendency of one metal to reduce the ions of any other metal below it in the series hierarchy - a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system; "put honesty first in her hierarchy of values" ordering, ordination, order - logical or comprehensible arrangement of separate elements; "we shall consider these questions in the inverse order of their presentation" nexus - a connected series or group patterned advance, progression - a series with a definite pattern of advance blizzard, rash - a series of unexpected and unpleasant occurrences; "a rash of bank robberies"; "a blizzard of lawsuits" sequence - serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern; "the sequence of names was alphabetical"; "he invented a technique to determine the sequence of base pairs in DNA" train, string - a sequentially ordered set of things or events or ideas in which each successive member is related to the preceding; "a string of islands"; "train of mourners"; "a train of thought" succession - a group of people or things arranged or following in order; "a succession of stalls offering soft drinks"; "a succession of failures" wave train - a succession of waves spaced at regular intervals helium group - the series of inert gases actinide series - (chemistry) a series of 15 radioactive elements with increasing atomic numbers from actinium to lawrencium lanthanide series - the rare-earth elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71; having properties similar to lanthanum
	2.	series - a serialized set of programs; "a comedy series"; "the Masterworks concert series" serial broadcast, program, programme - a radio or television show; "did you see his program last night?" instalment, installment, episode - a part of a broadcast serial soap opera - a serialized program usually dealing with sentimentalized family matters that is broadcast on radio or television (frequently sponsored by a company advertising soap products) tetralogy - a series of four related works (plays or operas or novels)
	3.	series - a periodical that appears at scheduled times serial publication, serial instalment, installment - a part of a published serial periodical - a publication that appears at fixed intervals semiweekly - a periodical that is published twice each week (or 104 issues per year) weekly - a periodical that is published every week (or 52 issues per year) semimonthly - a periodical that is published twice each month (or 24 issues per year) monthly - a periodical that is published every month (or 12 issues per year) quarterly - a periodical that is published every quarter (or four issues per year) bimonthly - a periodical that is published twice a month or every two months (either 24 or 6 issues per year) biweekly - a periodical that is published twice a week or every two weeks (either 104 or 26 issues per year) issue, number - one of a series published periodically; "she found an old issue of the magazine in her dentist's waiting room"
	4.	series - (sports) several contests played successively by the same teams; "the visiting team swept the series" athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition contest, competition - an occasion on which a winner is selected from among two or more contestants home stand - a series of successive games played at a team's home field or court World Series - series that constitutes the playoff for the baseball championship; "we watched the World Series on TV"
	5.	series - (electronics) connection of components in such a manner that current flows first through one and then through the other; "the voltage divider consisted of a series of fixed resistors" electronics - the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices connection, connexion, connectedness - a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it); "there was a connection between eating that pickle and having that nightmare"
	6.	series - a group of postage stamps having a common theme or a group of coins or currency selected as a group for study or collection; "the Post Office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers"; "his coin collection included the complete series of Indian-head pennies" group, grouping - any number of entities (members) considered as a unit
	7.	series - (mathematics) the sum of a finite or infinite sequence of expressions multinomial, polynomial - a mathematical function that is the sum of a number of terms power series - the sum of terms containing successively higher integral powers of a variable convergency, convergence - the approach of an infinite series to a finite limit divergency, divergence - an infinite series that has no limit geometric series - a geometric progression written as a sum Fourier series - the sum of a series of trigonometric expressions; used in the analysis of periodic functions math, mathematics, maths - a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement exponential series - a series derived from the expansion of an exponential expression

series

noun

1. sequence, course, chain, succession, run, set, line, order, train, arrangement, string, progression a series of explosions

2. drama, serial, soap (informal), sitcom (informal), soap opera, situation comedy, set of programmes Channel 4's `GBH' won best drama series.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

series

noun

A number of things placed or occurring one after the other:

chain, consecution, course, order, procession, progression, round, run, sequence, string, succession, suite, train.

Informal: streak.

Translations

سِلْسِلَهمُتَتَالِيَة

řadaseriálsérie

rækkeserie

Serie Reihe

σειρά

serie sucesión

sarja

série suite enchaînement rang

סדרה

serijared

sorsorozat

röî, sería, syrpa

serie

ひと続き

일련

daugiaserijiniskelių dalių tęstinis pasakojimaspaeiliui einantisserialasserialo statymas

seriālssērija

serie

серия последовательность ряд сериал

edícia

nadaljevankananizankavrsta

seriesummasvitföljdföljetong

สิ่งที่ต่อเนื่องกัน

dizi

chuỗi

系列连续

series

[ˈsɪərɪz]

A. N (series (pl))

1. (gen, TV) → serie f; [of lectures, films] → ciclo m
a series of events → una serie de acontecimientos

2. (Math) → serie f, progresión f

3. (Elec) to connect in series → conectar en serie

B. CPD series producer N (TV) → productor(a) m/f de la serie

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

series

[ˈsɪəriːz] n

(on TV, radio) → série f
A new series starts on Friday → Une nouvelle série commence vendredi.
a TV series → une série télévisée
a comedy series → une série comique
a cookery series → une émission de cuisine

(= succession) → série f
a series of meetings → une série de réunions

(= set of books, films) → série f
the Harry Potter series of novels → la série des romans de Harry Potter

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

series

n pl <->

→ Serie f; (of books, lectures etc also, of films, talks, Math, Mus, Elec) → Reihe f; (of events also, succession of things) → Reihe f, → Folge f; a series of articles → eine Artikelserie or -reihe; in series → der Reihe nach; (Elec) → in Reihe; (Comm) → serienmäßig; publish → als Serie

(Rad) → Sendereihe f; (TV) → Serie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

series

[ˈsɪərɪz] n pl inv (gen) (Radio, TV) → serie f inv; (set of books) → collana

series

(ˈsiəriːz) – plural ˈseries – noun

a number of usually similar things done, produced etc one after another. a series of brilliant scientific discoveries; Are you watching the television series on Britain's castles?; a series of school textbooks.

ˈserial (-riəl) adjective

1. of or in a series. serial numbers on banknotes.

2. (of a story etc) published or broadcast in parts.

noun

a serial story, play etc.

ˈserial killer noun

a person who has murdered several people one after another.

ˈserialize, ˈserialise (-riə-) verb

to publish or broadcast as a serial.

ˌserialiˈzation, ˌserialiˈsation noun

series

→ مُتَتَالِيَة řada serie Serie σειρά serie sarja série serija serie ひと続き 일련 reeks serie szereg série серия serie สิ่งที่ต่อเนื่องกัน dizi chuỗi 系列

ser·ies

n. serie, grupo de espécimenes en una secuencia.

series

n (pl series) serie f

References in classic literature ?

If the aim of the Russians consisted in cutting off and capturing Napoleon and his marshals- and that aim was not merely frustrated but all attempts to attain it were most shamefully baffled- then this last period of the campaign is quite rightly considered by the French to be a series of victories, and quite wrongly considered victorious by Russian historians.

View in context

"DEAR SIR--Please advertise a series of twelve Racy Prints, from my fertile pencil, entitled, 'Scenes of Modern Prison Life,' by Thersites Junior.

View in context

It was then, as it is to-day, an irregular trapezoid, bordered on one side by the quay, and on the other three by a series of lofty, narrow, and gloomy houses.

View in context

From this it is an easy step to the conclusion that an animal's desire is nothing but a characteristic of a certain series of actions, namely, those which would be commonly regarded as inspired by the desire in question.

View in context

Yet the old time fairy tale, having served for generations, may now be classed as "historical" in the children's library; for the time has come for a series of newer "wonder tales" in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point a fearsome moral to each tale.

View in context

For, after a long series of military successes, or diligent and skilful labours, it is generally found that the more intelligent among the Artisan and Soldier classes manifest a slight increase of their third side or base, and a shrinkage of the two other sides.

View in context

"Well, suppose we say--the last of a series of connected events--each of the series being the cause of the next--for whose sake the first event takes place."

View in context

I may recall the well-known fact that in geological treatises, published not many years ago, the great class of mammals was always spoken of as having abruptly come in at the commencement of the tertiary series. And now one of the richest known accumulations of fossil mammals belongs to the middle of the secondary series; and one true mammal has been discovered in the new red sandstone at nearly the commencement of this great series.

View in context

WHEN the author of these little tales commenced them, it was her intention to form a short series of such stories as, it was hoped, might not be entirely without moral advantage; but unforeseen circumstances have prevented their completion, and, unwilling to delay the publication any longer, she commits them to the world in their present unfinished state, without any flattering anticipations of their reception.

View in context

After several months of preparation and an expenditure of a million dollars all was in readiness, and a series of tremendous explosions occurred on the earth and in the sky.

View in context

The short biographies of many of the chief English authors in the English Men of Letters Series (Macmillan, 30 and 75 cents a volume) are generally admirable.

View in context

Thus, the story here presented will be told by more than one pen, as the story of an offence against the laws is told in Court by more than one witness--with the same object, in both cases, to present the truth always in its most direct and most intelligible aspect; and to trace the course of one complete series of events, by making the persons who have been most closely connected with them, at each successive stage, relate their own experience, word for word.