serge /s3id3; NAmE S3:rd3/ noun [U] a type of strong doth made of wool, used for making clothes # R/l: a blue serge suit

sergeant /'sa:d3ant; NAmf 'sa:rd3-/ noun {abbr. Sergt, Sgt) 1 a member of one of the middle ranks in the army and the air force, below an officer ) 4>

± : Sergeant Salter %  # A■ ±''— see also flight

sergeant, staff sergeant 2 (in Britain) a police officer just below the rank of an inspector (• ^ S ff % ) M f£ 3 (in the US) a police officer just below the rank of a lieutenant or captain ( H8f ^ ) W f/c — see also sarge

.sergeant 'major noun (often used as a title        A

jt) 1 a soldier of middle rank in the British army who is responsible for helping the officer who organizes the affairs of a particular regiment (= a large group of soldiers)        £ S T (ft    ) 2 a

soldier in the US army of the highest rank of non­commissioned OFFICERS ^ ± f£ (

)

serial /'siarial; NAmE 'sir-/ noun, adj.

* noun a story on television or the radio, or in a maga­zine, that is broadcast or published in several separate

parts mmmm-, rm&mm-,

madj. 1 [usually before noun] (technical Ain) arranged in a series        Kl: tasks carried out in the

same serial order       # 2 [only before

noun] doing the same thing in the same way several times        a serial rapist

ftf ^ 3 [only before noun] (of a story, etc. /Ju&^f) broad­cast or published in several separate parts lAxi Mil a novel in serial form

► seri-al-ly /-iali/ adv.

serialize (BrE also -ise) /'siarialaiz; NAmE 'sir-/ verb [VN] to publish or broadcast sth in parts as a serial      ^

fit: The novel was serialized on TV in six parts. & g|S J/Jn# # AJt & ffe M ± jf tB o ► seri-al-iza-tion, -isation /.siarialai'zeijn; NAmE .siriala’z-/ noun [C, U] • a news­paper serialization of the book .serial 'killer noun a person who murders several people one after the other in a similar way

imm "

'serial number noun a number put on a product, such as a camera, television, etc. in order to identify it jf^ij -*§•;

'serial port noun (computing if) a point on a computer where you connect a device such as a mouse that sends or receives data one bit at a time      P

ser ies 0*w /'siariiz; NAmE 'sir-/ noun {pi. ser-ies)

1 [G, usually sing.] ~ of sth several events or things of a similar kind that happen one after the other — % 3\;

; flti: The incident sparked off a whole series of events that nobody had foreseen. -- #4J ‘M        ^

Aff'J   O the latest in a series of articles on

the nature of modern society ife M ft f± ffi W ^

X A T ft Iff — Jli 2 [C] a set of radio or television programmes that deal with the same subject or that have the same characters ( AlftM

[W]   ^ 3\ 1? @ 3 [C] (sport W) a set of sports games

played between the same two teams ( MPAT.|hJI$ ) %. H tb A : the World Series {= in baseball) tk # fk 3\ 0 England have lost the Test series (= of cricket matches) against India. l^l %CPA W 4.3) tb^AM 0 4 [U, C] (technical Ai£) an electrical circuit in which the current passes through all the parts in the correct order serif /'serif/ noun a short line at the top or bottom of some styles of printed letters   Mtk ( nP^^PlilHA

MMm ) : a serif typeface Hm: ffc — compare sans serif ser ious 0-w /'siarias; NAmE 'sir-/ adj.

                BAD A'fcf 1 bad or dangerous T&F&A        Wfal

: a serious illness/problem/offence /“ M ^ ^ fA / fri gg / fr ff 0 to cause serious injury/damage iSSrlHA;

MSW o They pose a serious threat to security, fib fll it :2c     f* S M o o The consequences could be

serious,

NEEDING THOUGHT ft ® f 2 needing to be thought

1819 seriously

about carefully; not only for pleasure ft iAAS1#; f* a serious article — jiff*iff0 a serious news­paper        fg,IK O It’s time to give serious consider­

ation to this matter. 3\ 7N IS 7 „

                IMPORTANT Ji || 3 that must be treated as important If ^ $J; 4M M (ft : We need to get down to the serious business of working out costs.

To 0 The team is a serious contender for the title this year. »

                NOT SILLY f®|? 4 thinking about things in a careful and sensible way; not silly /“* It ; It It &A Be serious for a moment; this is important.

0 I’m afraid I’m not a very serious person. Sffi    '

                NOT JOKING       ~ (about sb/sth) | ~ (about

doing sth) sincere about sth; not joking or meant as a joke ^ M (tfJ ; iA M W : Believe me, I’m deadly (= extremely) serious, fg ft         ^ M ^ M 0 0

Don’t laugh, it’s a serious suggestion.        /ie

It      O Is she serious about wanting to sell the

house? M  ? O He’s really serious about

Penny and wants to get engaged. ftbjtf0jBl$ilJl

, ftb {ft M o 0 {informaf) You can’t be serious! (= you must be joking) ffc—0 You think I did it? Be serious! (= what you suggest is ridicu­lous) f^iAA^^UcT^? mm£7.\

                LARGE AMOUNT A m 6 {informal) used to emphasize that

there is a large amount of sth (      ) : You can

earn serious money doing that. TIPT, ff tb# —-A^ Ho o I’m ready to do some serious eating (= I am very hungry).

SYNONYMS [^^^]^#f

serious

grave ♦ earnest ♦ solemn

These words all describe sb who thinks and behaves carefully and sensibly, but often without much joy or laughter.      MM,

serious thinking about things in a careful and sensible way; not laughing about sth HffTtfe , iAil-fiA He’s not really a very serious person, ffe T4b't/IElt^ Ac o Be serious for a moment; this is important. AAfAJL, grave {rather formal) (of a person) serious in manner, as if sth sad, important, or worrying has just happened ftAf5^-, ji/A tftlt: He looked very grave as he entered the room. ffejftMNA'I# jP#

rfL

earnest serious and sincere f&iAftllA , AM

t\/']: The earnest young doctor answered all our questions.        ^T^fflNr^

InJMo

solemn looking or sounding very serious, without smiling; done or said in a very serious and sincere way!H|fc*rm«i,      wm-. Her

expression grew solemn.     o

/ made a solemn promise that I would return. TAPIf

PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS

m a(n) serious/grave/earnest/solemn expression/face

                  a(n) serious/earnest conversation/talk

                  a serious/solemn mood/atmosphere

                  to be/become serious/grave/earnest/solemn

                  to look/sound serious/grave/earnest/solemn

                  very/extremely serious/grave/earnest/solemn

ser ious ly <H* /'sioriasli; NAmE 'sir-/ adv.

1 in a serious way     iAAKb: to be

seriously ill/injured ]f    0 You’re not seriously

expecting me to believe that?