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Meaning & use

sequence

noun, verb·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈsiːkwəns/
US/ˈsiːkwəns/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A set of things that come one after another in a particular order.

    Grammar: Countable: a sequence of events, two sequences.

    Patterns

    • a sequence of something
    • in sequence
    • out of sequence

    Police pieced together the sequence of events leading to the accident.

    The numbers 2, 4, 6, 8 form a simple sequence.

    Follow the sequence of steps exactly to avoid errors.

  2. noununcountable

    The particular order in which things follow each other.

    Grammar: Often appears in the phrase in sequence.

    Patterns

    • in sequence
    • in the right sequence

    The photos are in sequence, so the story is easy to follow.

    Put the paragraphs in logical sequence before you print.

  3. nouncountable

    A short passage of a film that shows one continuous piece of action.

    Grammar: Countable and common in film talk: the opening sequence.

    Patterns

    • a chase sequence
    • the opening sequence

    The chase sequence took three weeks to film.

    The movie's opening sequence shows a city waking up.

  4. nouncountabletechnicalbiology

    The order of the building blocks in DNA, a protein, or a computer program.

    Grammar: Often used with genetic or DNA: the gene sequence.

    Patterns

    • the sequence of a gene

    Scientists compared the DNA sequence of the two species.

    A single change in the sequence can alter how the protein works.

  5. verbtransitivetechnical

    To arrange or work out the order of something, especially genes or steps in a process.

    Grammar: Takes an object: sequence the genome.

    Patterns

    • sequence something

    The lab managed to sequence the virus within days.

    Planners must sequence the tasks so that the walls go up before the roof.

Word forms

pluralsequences
third person singularsequences
past tensesequenced
past participlesequenced
-ing formsequencing

Common combinations

in sequence
The lights flash in sequence along the runway.
logical sequence
Present your arguments in a logical sequence.
sequence of events
Witnesses described a strange sequence of events.
DNA sequence
The DNA sequence was stored in a public database.
out of sequence
The pages were printed out of sequence.
title sequence
The show's title sequence is famous for its music.

Synonyms and how they differ

series
A series stresses similar things coming one after another, but does not always require a fixed order.
order
Order is the arrangement itself, while a sequence is the arranged set of items.
succession
Succession stresses one thing following another in time, often with a feeling of repetition.
chain
A chain suggests each item causes or connects to the next, which a plain sequence does not.

Opposites

jumbledisorder

Word family

sequential adjective
following in a fixed order
sequentially adverb
one after the other in order
sequencing noun
the act of working out an order, especially of genes
consequence noun
a result that follows from something
subsequent adjective
coming after

Commonly confused: sequence or consequence?

sequence vs consequence

A consequence is a result of something; a sequence is simply things in order, with no cause implied.

Practice

The cooking instructions only work if you follow the steps in ____.

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