sequential

adjective se·quen·tial \ si-ˈkwen(t)-shəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Examples: sequential in a Sentence

Definition of sequential

1 : of, relating to, or arranged in a sequence : serial

sequential file systems

2 : following in sequence

3 : relating to or based on a method of testing a statistical hypothesis that involves examination of a sequence of samples for each of which the decision is made to accept or reject the hypothesis or to continue sampling

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sequentially

play \si-ˈkwen(t)-sh(ə-)lē\ adverb

See sequential defined for English-language learners

See sequential defined for kids

Examples of sequential in a Sentence

Put the cards in sequential order.
explained that if the two required algebra semesters weren't sequential, the students would likely forget the material

Recent Examples of sequential from the Web

That way the cooks can plot out sequential, not simultaneous, prep.

— karen stabiner, WSJ, "How to Cook Smarter by Cooking Smaller," 19 Apr. 2018
This content, which the curriculum divides into six periods, is typically covered over the course of two sequential college classes.

— alia wong, The Atlantic, "The Controversy Over Just How Much History AP World History Should Cover," 13 June 2018
Ranked-choice and sequential pairwise aren’t even the weirdest possibilities out there.

— adam rogers, WIRED, "Elections Don’t Work at All. You Can Blame the Math," 6 June 2018
Even physical assessment texts are sometimes accompanied by sequential images.

— mk czerwiec, STAT, "Getting graphic in medicine: using comics to tell health stories," 26 Apr. 2018
The Ultra II is a little bit slower with sequential write speeds of up to 525 megabytes per second, compared to 530MB/s with the Ultra 3D. That’s not such a big difference, but the gap between read speeds are more noticeable.

— ian paul, PCWorld, "You can get a 1TB SanDisk Ultra II SSD for $200 using this code," 16 May 2018
Call them comic books, graphic novels or sequential art--whatever the name, the form has matured over 25 years into the Modern Age of Comic Books, with more publishers and a bigger fan base than ever.

— allen pierleoni, sacbee, "This 'marvel' of a show is free | The Sacramento Bee," 4 May 2018
And metadata associated with some of the emails suggests that Broidy’s private documents were being rifled by a team of at least two dozen people with sequential user profiles, indicating a robust organizational structure behind the theft.

— Bloomberg.com, "Elliott Broidy and the GOP’s Bad Hacking Karma," 4 May 2018
Both models have tool-free selector switches for sequential and contact-actuation modes, both offer tool-free jam release to efficiently clear nail jams.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Leave the Hammer Behind With Amazon's Nailgun Sale," 9 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sequential.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Things in sequence, or regular order, are arranged sequentially. Most novels and films move sequentially, but some use techniques such as flashbacks that interrupt the movement forward in time. Sequential courses in college must follow each other in the proper order, just like sequential tasks or steps.