cereal
n. · adj.-
1 breakfast food (n.) A1 Beginner Cookinga food made from grain that you usually eat with milk in the morning.
a processed breakfast food made from roasted or toasted grain, typically served with milk.
ExampleI usually have a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice for breakfast.
ExampleThe supermarket aisle was packed with dozens of different cereals, most of them marketed heavily toward children with bright packaging and high sugar content.
UsageUsually uncountable when referring to the food in general, but countable when referring to specific brands or types.
- breakfast cereal
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2 grain plants (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Scienceplants like wheat, rice, or corn that are grown for their seeds.
any grass cultivated for its edible grain, such as wheat, oats, or maize.
ExampleThe farmer grows different cereals like barley and wheat on his land.
ExampleGlobal food security depends heavily on the stable production of major cereals, which provide the primary caloric intake for much of the world's population.
UsageOften used in plural form when discussing agricultural production.
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3 relating to grain (adj.) B2 Upper Intermediate Academicrelated to or made from grain.
pertaining to or consisting of grain or the plants that produce it.
ExampleThe factory produces various cereal products for the local market.
ExampleThe research paper examined the impact of climate change on cereal yields across the sub-Saharan region.
UsageUsually placed before a noun.
Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent).