series
- 01 A2 Elementary
a number of similar things or events that happen one after another.
a number of things, events, or people of a similar kind or nature coming one after another.
Simple“The police are investigating a series of robberies that happened in the city center last week.”
In context“The sudden collapse of the bank triggered a series of financial crises across the continent, forcing governments to intervene with emergency loans.”
Synonyms - 02 A2 Elementary
a set of television or radio programs that have the same characters or theme.
a set of related television or radio programmes broadcast in regular installments.
Simple“My favorite comedy series is returning for a third year this autumn.”
In context“The documentary series explores the complex relationship between urban development and local wildlife preservation over the last fifty years.”
UsageThe singular form is 'a series' and the plural form is 'two series'.
Teacher's tipIn British English, 'series' often means what Americans call a 'season'.
PitfallI watched a new serie last night. I watched a new series last night.The word 'series' is the same in both singular and plural forms. Do not remove the 's' for one show.
- 03 B1 Intermediate
a group of games played between the same two teams.
a set of matches played between two teams or players, often to determine an overall winner.
Simple“The two national teams will play a five-match series starting next month.”
In context“After losing the first two games, the team managed to win the series by securing victories in the final three matches.”
Synonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
the sum of a group of numbers that follow a specific pattern.
the sum of the terms of an infinite or finite sequence.
Simple“The teacher asked us to calculate the sum of the geometric series.”
In context“The student struggled to determine whether the infinite series converged to a specific value or diverged toward infinity.”
Synonyms - 05 C2 Proficiency
a way to group living things that are very similar, below a 'genus' but above a 'species'.
a taxonomic rank below section but above species, used to group closely related organisms.
Simple“The botanist identified the new plant as belonging to a specific series within the oak family.”
In context“The revision of the genus led to several species being reassigned to a different series based on recent genetic data.”
Usage series footballdaily · series for children · series of blazes
Attested from the 1610s; borrowed from Latin seriēs, from serere (“to join together, bind”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to bind, put together, to line up”). Related to desert, insert, sermon, and sorcerer.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.