series

noun

se·​ries ˈsir-(ˌ)ēz 

plural series

often attributive

1

a

: a number of things or events of the same class coming one after another in spatial or temporal succession

a concert series

the hall opened into a series of small rooms

b

: a set of regularly presented television programs each of which is complete in itself

2

: the indicated sum of a usually infinite sequence of numbers

3

a

: the coins or currency of a particular country and period

b

: a group of postage stamps in different denominations

4

: a succession of volumes or issues published with related subjects or authors, similar format and price, or continuous numbering

5

: a division of rock formations that is smaller than a system and comprises rocks deposited during an epoch

6

: a group of chemical compounds related in composition and structure

7

: an arrangement of the parts of or elements in an electric circuit whereby the whole current passes through each part or element without branching compare parallel

8

: a set of vowels connected by ablaut (such as i, a, u in ring, rang, rung)

9

: a number of games (as of baseball) played usually on consecutive days between two teams

in town for a 3-game series

10

: a group of successive coordinate sentence elements joined together

11

: soil series

12

: three consecutive games in bowling

Phrases

in series

: in a serial or series arrangement

Examples of series in a Sentence

a five-part series on the history of baseball

a series of articles on global warming

The Yankees played a three-game series against the Red Sox last week.

The play-off series between the two teams begins next week.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the Japanese launch market, Toyota is taking on Mitsubishi, whose subsidiary Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has developed and launched the H3 series of rockets for JAXA, the country’s space agency. —Michael Wayland,michael Sheetz, CNBC, 6 Jan. 2025

Last month, Nio also introduced another brand Firefly, which will compete in the high-end compact car market, taking on the likes of BMW’s Mini and the Mercedes Smart series of vehicles in China. —Trefis Team, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

The video depicts a series of unexpected challenges that Jasmin and her best friend, Gabby, faced during a hike on the Acatenango volcano. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025

Prime Video began running ads on original series and films in January 2024, providing new inventory in a portfolio that also includes Amazon MGM Studios, Fire TV Channels, Twitch, Wondery, IMDb, Amazon Live and Amazon Music. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from serere to join, link together; akin to Greek eirein to string together, hormos chain, necklace, and perhaps to Latin sort-, sors lot

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing series

• alternating series
• Fourier series
• geometric series
• harmonic series
• Maclaurin series
• power series
• soil series
• sub-series
• Taylor series
• time series

Kids Definition

series

noun

se·​ries ˈsi(ə)r-ēz 

plural series

1

: a number of things or events arranged in order and connected by being alike in some way

a concert series

a series of talks

2

: a division of rock formations smaller than a system comprising rocks deposited during an epoch

3

: an arrangement of the parts of or elements in an electric circuit whereby the whole current passes through each part or element without branching

4

: a group of sentence elements of the same rank that follow one after another and are joined together

the phrase "a bowl of oranges, apples, and bananas" has a series of three nouns

Medical Definition

series

noun

se·​ries ˈsi(ə)r-(ˌ)ēz 

plural series

1

: a number of things or events of the same class coming one after another in spatial or temporal succession

described a new series of cases

2

: a group of specimens or types progressively differing from each other in some morphological or physiological attribute

a series of antitoxins

3

: a group of chemical compounds related in composition and structure