sequence
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A set of things next to each other in a set order.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
seekwuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsikwəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series.
A series of musical phrases where a theme or melody is repeated, with some change each time, such as in pitch or length (example: opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony).
uncountable
The state of being sequent or following; order of succession.
A series of shots that depict a single action or style in a film, television show, or other video medium.
mathematics
An ordered list of objects, typically indexed with natural numbers.
A musical composition used in some Catholic Masses between the readings. The most famous sequence is the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) formerly used in funeral services.
verb
transitive
To arrange (something) in an order.
Determine the order of constituents in
Arrange in a sequence
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A set of things next to each other in a set order; a series.
Used this way, sequence is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use sequence
- “Complete the listed tasks in sequence.”noun
- “The sequence of names was alphabetical.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Set / series
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
An apparatus that can determine the sequence of monomers in a polymer.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A sequence of numbers in which each number equals the sum of the two preceding numbers.
A following of one thing after another in time.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: set of things next to each other in a set order
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.