Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use serial in a sentence

40 example sentences · adjective, noun, verb

Serial means having to do with or arranged in a series. Example: “The serial killer had a string of victims across seven states.”

Examples of serial by meaning

adjectiveWho performs a specified action or course of action repeatedly or regularly.

  • The serial killer had a string of victims across seven states.
  • He was a serial entrepreneur, always coming up with a new way to make cash.
  • "I am not a cheat and I am not a serial monogamist."2012, Rachel James, Salisbury, Lulu.com, page 10

nounA serial number, esp. one required to activate software.

  • Go to these sites for serials, cracks and keygens.

nounA unit of police officers equipped with shields to tackle a riot.

  • The practice, especially among members of shield serials, of 'whooping like cowboys and indians' and beating of truncheons on riot shields must cease as this tends to frighten and intimidate rioters.1992, James Donald, Ali Rattansi, Race, Culture and Difference, page 66
  • The serials worked in pairs, one with long shields and one with short shields.2013, Tony Moore, Policing Notting Hill: Fifty Years of Turbulence, page 324

More sentences with serial

  • He poled off the serial of the Gulfstream to confirm its identity.From the entry pole
  • A disturbing film that tries to explore the mind of a serial killer.From the entry disturbing
  • The serial killer played the victim card as he blamed others for his actions.From the entry play the victim card
  • A self-described "serial entrepreneur", he left school at 16 to start a cleaning company.From the entry self-described
  • The serial killer was sentenced to death.From the entry death
  • The serial killer was caged for life.From the entry cage
  • He writes and directs yet another Witchcraft movie about a serial killer, detectives, strippers, aardvarking, and witchcraft.2023, Steve Hutchison, The Worst Horror Movies 2. From the entry aardvarking
  • In other words, she was a serial wardrobe malfunctioner (If there is such a term.2016, Sreenivasan, Much Below Average, →ISBN. From the entry wardrobe malfunctioner
  • Serial ultrasounds and fundoscopic examinations performed during and before treatment were normal.2015 June 4, Emel Altuncu et al., “Successful Treatment of Candida parapsilosis Fungemia in Two Preterms with Voriconazole”, in Case…. From the entry fundoscopic
  • And that goes for whether you're a hardcore exerciser or a serial chillaxer.2014, Amber O'Connor, 105 Stretching Exercises for Women. From the entry chillaxer
  • Putin’s closest electoral competitor is the Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov – a serial election loser.2012 February 29, Phil Black, “Putin vies for leadership of a changed Russia”, in CNN. From the entry thumper
  • Hole was being interviewed because he had hunted down a serial killer in Australia.2010, Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett, “The Snowman”, in The Snowman (Harry Hole; 7), London: Harvill Secker, →ISBN, part 5, pages…. From the entry herostratically
  • Motives for serial murder have typically been classified within one of four broad explanatory frameworks.2008, Grover Maurice Godwin, Hunting Serial Predators, page 1. From the entry sociogenic
  • You almost never hear of orphans being serial killed, and not because they aren't.2005 March 13, Offshore Eddie, “Re: Serial Killer DOs and DON'Ts”, in alt.true-crime (Usenet), retrieved 18 May 2022. From the entry serial kill
  • Serial electroretinograms should be considered for retained metallic foreign bodies to evaluate for toxic metallosis.2003, Allen Ho, Retina: Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Ophthalmology. From the entry metallosis
  • Joyce had a major but not leading role in a good bi-weekly TV serial daytime program.1999, Stella Chess, Goodness of Fit: Clinical Applications from Infancy Through Adult Life. From the entry bi-weekly
  • The byproduct of the lifestyle, is polluted rivers, greenhouse effect, spouse abuse, televangelists, and serial killers.1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, page 274. From the entry thermodynamically
  • The Yorkshire Choker, a serial killer who quotes Shakespeare, is pursued by Dalziel and Pascoe.1990, Janet Husband, Jonathan F. Husband, Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series, page 199. From the entry choker
  • Such a magnetic matrix, plane, or array can function as a serial store.1963, Willis H[oward] Ware, “The Store”, in Digital Computer Technology and Design, volumes II (Circuits and Machine Design), New York…. From the entry intertwingle
  • In the afternoons, she watches TV, endless cycles of serials in which mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law engage in one-upwomanship.2023, Santanu Bhattacharya, One Small Voice, Fig Tree, page 28. From the entry one-upwomanship
  • "No, I'm just worried that I'm a serial killer.2019, elise sax, Goodnight Mysteries The Complete Series, 13 Lakes Publishing. From the entry Jessica Fletcher
  • For lack of a better term, he's a “serial racer.”2016, Scott Ludwig, Bonnie Busch, Craig Snapp, Running to Extremes: The Legendary Athletes of Ultrarunning, Meyer & Meyer Sport, →ISBN…. From the entry moonrun
  • We’ve had the linear, the serial one.2015 July 20, Adrienne LaFrance, quoting Peter Littlewood, “The Definition of 'Computer' Is Changing”, in The Atlantic, archived from the…. From the entry architecturally
  • RS: Don’t forget those serial killer glasses.2014 June 10, Robert Stark, Robert Lindsay, “Robert Stark and Robert Lindsay talk Elliot Rogers.^([sic]) […]”, in Francis Nally, editor…. From the entry serial killer glasses
  • For eight seasons Showtime brought us “Dexter” which—in its own way—defined a serial killer in a serial “dramystery.”2013 August, “Death, Drugs & Drama”, in Ion Television Arizona. From the entry dramystery
  • A man in a trucker cap with hollow cheeks and serial killer glasses eyed him over hash browns.2013, Max Barry, Lexicon. From the entry serial killer glasses
  • It is a serial story which we are all reading, and which grows in vital interest with each successive installment.2012, Charles W. Chesnutt, The Marrow of Tradition, →ISBN. From the entry installment
  • This could be done, for example, by using the last two digits of the serial number on a dollar bill.2009, Larry Rittenberg, Karla Johnstone, Audrey Gramling, Auditing: A Business Risk Approach, Cengage Learning, page 362. From the entry random number
  • There's no telling when the serial dating bug can strike.2007, Elina Furman, Kiss and Run, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 87. From the entry dry spell
  • By filing off the serial numbers, she was able to make the universe her own, to change as she needed to.2002 January 15, David Thornley, “Re: harry potter”, in rec.games.int-fiction (Usenet). From the entry file off the serial numbers
  • He committed serial murder in proportion to his race that comprises nearly 13% of the total U.S. population .1999 September 2, Jim, “Why do negros kill people?”, in alt.rush-limbaugh (Usenet), retrieved 18 May 2022. From the entry serial kill
  • I've received a few pokes about filing off the serial numbers and trying to sell it as an independent work.1998 March 6, Julie Lim, “Help!”, in rec.arts.sf.composition (Usenet). From the entry file off the serial numbers
  • In serial inoculations aggressivity increases until the danger arises that the series will cease from some cause not clearly understood.1907, The Philippine Journal of Science, page 357. From the entry aggressivity
  • But a reminder — he's a serial creepshotter with a history of grossly policing women whose bodies don't meet with his approval.2018 November 15, Opheli Garcia Lawler, “Here Are the Best Responses to That Tweet About Alexandria Ocasio”, in The Cut. From the entry creepshotter

Meaning of serial

  1. adjective Having to do with or arranged in a series.
  2. adjective Who performs a specified action or course of action repeatedly or regularly.
  3. adjective Published or produced in installments.

Full definition of serial

Questions about serial in a sentence

How do you use serial in a sentence?
Serial is used as an adjective, noun and verb. For example: “The serial killer had a string of victims across seven states.”
What is a short sentence with serial?
“RS: Don’t forget those serial killer glasses.”
What does serial mean?
Serial means having to do with or arranged in a series.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: serial (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use serial in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/serial. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.