serial

adjective

• 1consisting of, forming part of, or taking place in a series:a serial publication
• Linguistics (of verbs) used in sequence to form a construction, as in they wanted, needed, longed for peace: the use of serial verbs

• 2repeatedly committing the same offence and typically following a characteristic, predictable behaviour pattern:a serial killer
• repeatedly following the same behaviour pattern:he was a serial adulterer serial monogamy

• 3 Music using transformations of a fixed series of notes: the harmonic flow of serial music Schoenberg’s serial revolution

• 4 Computing (of a device) involving the transfer of data as a single sequence of bits.
• (of a processor) running only a single task, as opposed to multitasking.

noun

• 1a story or play appearing in regular instalments on television or radio or in a magazine or newspaper:a new three-part drama serial

• 2 (usually serials) (in a library) a periodical: [as modifier]:the Serials Librarian