Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Serial for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Serial" — noun, pronounced /ˈsɪəriəl/, with the stress on "se".
Narrator: A serial is a story broadcast or published in several separate parts.
Narrator: In plain English, it is a story in instalments.
Narrator: It comes from series plus -al.
Narrator: A common collocation is "serial number", which describes a unique number on a product.
Narrator: It differs from "series", because a serial continues one story, while a series can have separate stories.
Narrator: In a second sense, serial means repeated, as in "a serial offender".
Narrator: Media, publishing, manufacturing and law all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: serial means one after another.
Speaker A: Where's the serial number on my laptop?
Speaker B: Underneath! SERIAL comes from series.
Speaker A: For the warranty?
Speaker B: Exactly.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "Dickens published novels as serials", literature. "Enter the serial number", tech support. "A serial complainer", humour.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Do not confuse serial with "cereal", breakfast food.
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Series is its cousin, instalment its twin, and sequential an alternative — yet serial keeps its episodic charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "serial" in AI prompts — useful for asset tracking and podcast planning.
Speaker A: How for assets?
Speaker B: Track devices.
Prompt: Build an asset register with device, owner and serial number columns.
Speaker A: And podcasts?
Speaker B: Episodes.
Prompt: Plan an eight-part true-crime serial with a cliffhanger per episode.
Speaker A: Could it help validation?
Speaker B: Yes, for formats.
Prompt: Write a regex that checks serial numbers match two letters then six digits.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: Homophones.
Prompt: Check this text for serial and cereal mix-ups.
Serial — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary