serial

serial — 形容詞

1. relates to someone who carries out the same type of harmful or illegal act again

1.形容詞B2
釋義

連續犯罪的

反覆犯下同類罪行的

relates to someone who carries out the same type of harmful or illegal act again and again over a period — for example, a murderer who kills many victims one after another, or a thief who steals repeatedly.

例句

Police arrested a serial killer who had attacked seven people over two years.

警方逮捕了一名連續殺人犯，他在兩年內攻擊了七個人。

serial + killer for multiple murders

Judges in many countries give harsher sentences to serial offenders who refuse to change.

許多國家的法官對拒絕改過的連續犯罪者判處更重的刑罰。

serial + offender for repeat criminals

同義詞
  • repeat

    more general, used for any repeated action without the criminal connotation (e.g. repeat customer, repeat performance)

  • habitual

    suggests a fixed pattern by force of habit, often with negative tone (e.g. habitual liar, habitual offender)

  • chronic

    emphasises long-standing, hard-to-break patterns, often used for addiction or illness rather than crime

反義詞
  • one-time

    describes an act that happens only once, not repeatedly

文法句型

serial + noun (criminal/offender/killer)

用法筆記

Only used before a noun (attributive position). The noun that follows is almost always a type of criminal or a harmful act. Common examples: serial killer, serial offender, serial rapist, serial arsonist, serial fraudster. The sense does not extend to non-criminal repeated behaviour (e.g. a person who watches many movies is not a 'serial movie-watcher').

常見錯誤

❌He is a serial baker who makes cakes every weekend.
✅He bakes cakes every weekend.
💡'serial' in this sense is reserved for criminal or seriously harmful repeated acts, not everyday habits.
❌The serial killer was arrested and put in jail for life.
✅The serial killer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
💡use 'convicted' and 'sentenced' rather than vague 'put in jail' for formal legal contexts.

2. broadcast or published as a set of separate parts that come out one after anothe

2.形容詞B2
釋義

連載的

分多次播出或刊登的

broadcast or published as a set of separate parts that come out one after another — for example, a TV drama with a new episode each week, or a story printed across several magazine issues.

例句

Liam watches a new serial drama every Tuesday night with his flatmates.

Liam 每週二晚上和室友一起看新的連載劇。

serial + drama for TV shows in episodes

The magazine ran the story in serial form across six issues last year.

去年這本雜誌以連載形式分六期刊登了這篇故事。

serial form for publication in instalments

同義詞
  • episodic

    focuses on the content being divided into episodes, more common for TV and podcasts

  • serialised

    specifically describes a work that has been turned into a serial format from a single original

反義詞
  • standalone

    describes a work that is complete in one part, not needing a sequel or next episode

文法句型

serial + noun (drama/novel/publication/story)

用法筆記

Used attributively before nouns related to media content. The noun typically names a type of creative work: drama, story, novel, publication, podcast. Contrasts with 'standalone' or 'one-off', which describe works that are complete in a single part.

常見錯誤

❌I bought a serial book.
✅I read a story that was published in serial form.
💡'serial' describes the publication format, not a type of book. Use 'serialised' or 'in serial form' instead.

3. describes a way of sending data through a single wire or channel, where each pie

3.形容詞B2
釋義

序列的

每次傳送一個位元的

describes a way of sending data through a single wire or channel, where each piece of information travels one at a time in a line — for example, an older computer port that transmits data this way.

例句

Older computer mice used a serial port at the back of the machine.

舊型電腦的滑鼠使用的是主機後方的序列埠。

serial + port for hardware connection

A serial cable sends one bit of data at a time through a single wire.

序列傳輸線每次透過一條線路傳送一個位元的資料。

serial cable transmits one bit at a time

同義詞
  • sequential

    broader term for any step-by-step process, not specific to computing hardware

反義詞
  • parallel

    describes data transmission where multiple bits travel simultaneously through separate wires

文法句型

serial + noun (port/cable/connection/interface)

用法筆記

Technical computing term. The opposite concept is 'parallel', where multiple bits travel at the same time through separate wires. Modern computers rarely include serial ports, though the term is still used in networking and hardware specifications.

常見錯誤

❌My phone uses a serial charger.
✅My phone uses a USB charger.
💡'serial' refers to a specific data transmission standard, not a general type of cable or charger.

4. placed in a specific order following a numbered system, usually for identificati

4.形容詞B1
釋義

按順序的

依序排列以用於識別的

placed in a specific order following a numbered system, usually for identification purposes — for example, a product number that increases by one for each new item made.

例句

Every product from this factory has a unique serial code printed on its bottom.

這家工廠生產的每樣產品底部都印有獨一無二的序號。

serial code for unique identification numbers

Eitan wrote down the serial number of his laptop in case it got stolen.

Eitan 記下了自己筆記型電腦的序號，以防被偷。

同義詞
  • sequential

    broader term meaning 'one after another', used for any ordered arrangement

  • consecutive

    emphasises that items follow each other without gaps (e.g. consecutive numbers 1, 2, 3)

反義詞
  • random

    describes items that are not arranged in any fixed order

文法句型

serial + noun (number/code/order/ID)

用法筆記

Used before nouns that refer to identifiers or labels. The most common collocation is 'serial number', which identifies a single item uniquely. 'Serial code' and 'serial ID' are also frequent. This sense does not carry any criminal or media meaning — it simply means 'in a numbered sequence'.

常見錯誤

❌Please tell me the serial of your phone.
✅Please tell me the serial number of your phone.
💡'serial' alone is not a noun meaning 'identification number'; always include the word 'number' or 'code'.

serial — 名詞