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series - 9 dictionary results

se⋅ries

  [seer-eez] noun, plural -ries, adjective
Use series in a Sentence
–noun
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: The two baseball clubs played a five-game series.
3. a set, as of coins or stamps.
4. a set of successive volumes or 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 the same cast and format and a continuing story, as a soap opera, situation comedy, or drama.
b. a number of related programs having the same theme, cast, or format: a series of four programs on African wildlife.
6. Mathematics.
a. a sequence of terms combined by addition, as 1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + … 1/2 n.
b. infinite series.
7. Rhetoric. a succession of coordinate sentence elements.
8. Geology. 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. Electricity. an end-to-end arrangement of the components, as resistors, in a circuit so that the same current flows through each component. Compare parallel (def. 13).
10. Chemistry. a group of related chemical elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number: the lanthanide series.
–adjective
11. Electricity. consisting of or having component parts connected in series: a series circuit; a series generator.
Origin:
1605–15; < L seriēs; akin to serere to connect

Synonyms:
1. 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, usually 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, usually though not necessarily with a relation or connection between them: succession to a throne; a succession of calamities.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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.
    1. A succession of usually continuously numbered issues or volumes of a publication, published with related authors or subjects and similar formats.
    2. A succession of regularly aired television programs, each one of which is complete in and of itself.
    3. Sports A number of games played by the same two teams, often in succession.
    4. Baseball The World Series.
    1. Sports A number of games played by the same two teams, often in succession.
    2. Baseball The World Series.
  9. Linguistics A set of vowels or diphthongs related by ablaut, as in sing, sang, sung, and song.

[Latin seriēs, from serere, to join; see ser-2 in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote a number of things placed or occurring one after the other. Series refers to like, related, or identical things arranged or occurring in order: a series of days; a series of facts.
In a succession the elements follow each other, generally in order of time and without interruption: a succession of failures.
A progression reveals a definite pattern of advance: a geometric progression.
In a sequence elements are ordered in a way that indicates a causal, temporal, numerical, or logical relationship or a recurrent pattern: a natural sequence of ideas.
In a chain the elements are closely linked or connected: the chain of command; a chain of proof.
Train can apply to a procession or to a sequence of ideas or events: a train of mourners; my train of thought.
A string consists of similar or uniform elements likened to objects threaded on a long cord: a string of islands; a string of questions.

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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Series

Se"ries\, n. 1. (Bot.) In Engler's system of plant classification, a group of families showing certain structural or morphological relationships. It corresponds to the cohort of some writers, and to the order of many modern systematists.

2. (Elec.) A mode of arranging the separate parts of a circuit by connecting them successively end to end to form a single path for the current; -- opposed to parallel. The parts so arranged are said to be

in series.

3. (Com.) A parcel of rough diamonds of assorted qualities.

Series

Se"ries\, n. [L. series, fr. serere, sertum, to join or bind together; cf. Gr. ??? to fasten, Skr. sarit thread. Cf. Assert, Desert a solitude, Exert, Insert, Seraglio.]

1. A number of things or events standing or succeeding in order, and connected by a like relation; sequence; order; course; a succession of things; as, a continuous series of calamitous events.

During some years his life a series of triumphs. --Macaulay.

2. (Biol.) Any comprehensive group of animals or plants including several subordinate related groups.

Note: Sometimes a series includes several classes; sometimes only orders or families; in other cases only species.

3. (Math.) An indefinite number of terms succeeding one another, each of which is derived from one or more of the preceding by a fixed law, called the law of the series; as, an arithmetical series; a geometrical series.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : series
Spanish: serie,
German: die Serien (pl.),
Japanese: ひと続き
More Translations »

series 
1611, "a number or set of things of one kind arranged in a line," from L. series "row, chain, series," from serere "to join, link, bind together, put," from PIE base *ser- "to line up, join" (cf. Skt. sarat- "thread," Gk. eirein "to fasten together in rows," Goth. sarwa (pl.) "armor, arms," O.N. sörve "necklace of stringed pearls," O.Ir. sernaid "he joins together," Welsh ystret "row"). Meaning "set of printed works published consecutively" is from 1711. Meaning "set of radio or television programs with the same characters and themes" is attested from 1949.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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series

See option series.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: se·ries
Pronunciation: 'si(&)r-(")Ez
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural series
1 : a number of thingsor events of the same class coming one after another in spatial or temporal succession series of cases>
2 : a group of specimens or typesprogressively differing from each other in some morphological or physiological attribute series of antitoxins>
3 : a group of chemical compounds related incomposition and structure
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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series se·ries (sēr'ēz)
n. pl. series

  1. A number of objects or events arranged or coming one after the other in succession.
  2. A group of objects related by linearly varying successive differences in form or configuration, as in a radioactive decay series.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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series   (sîr'ēz)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The sum of a sequence of terms, for example 2 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + ...
  2. A group of rock formations closely related in time of origin and distinct as a group from other formations.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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