Sep|tem|ber /septe mbə r / (Septembers ) N‑VAR September is the ninth month of the year in the Western calendar. □ Her son, Jerome, was born in September. □ They returned to Moscow on 22 September 1930. □ They spent a couple of nights here last September.
sep|tic /se pt I k/ ADJ If a wound or a part of your body becomes septic , it becomes infected. □ …a septic toe.
sep|ti|cae|mia /se pt I siː miə/ in AM, use septicemia N‑UNCOUNT Septicaemia is blood poisoning. [MEDICAL ]
se p|tic ta nk (septic tanks ) N‑COUNT A septic tank is an underground tank where faeces, urine, and other waste matter is made harmless using bacteria.
sep|tua|genar|ian /se ptʃuədʒ I ne əriən/ (septuagenarians ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A septuagenarian is a person between 70 and 79 years old. [FORMAL ] □ …septuagenarian author Mary Wesley.
se|pul|chral /s I pʌ lkrəl/
1 ADJ Something that is sepulchral is serious or sad and rather frightening. [LITERARY ] □ 'He's gone,' Rory whispered in sepulchral tones.
2 ADJ A sepulchral place is dark, quiet, and empty. [LITERARY ] □ He made his way along the sepulchral corridors.
sep|ul|chre /se p ə lkə r / (sepulchres ) in AM, use sepulcher N‑COUNT A sepulchre is a building or room in which a dead person is buried. [LITERARY ]
se|quel /siː kw ə l/ (sequels )
1 N‑COUNT A book or film which is a sequel to an earlier one continues the story of the earlier one. □ [+ to ] She is currently writing a sequel to her first novel.
2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] The sequel to something that has happened is an event or situation that happens after it or as a result of it. □ [+ to ] The police said the clash was a sequel to yesterday's nationwide strike.
se|quence /siː kwəns/ (sequences )
1 N‑COUNT A sequence of events or things is a number of events or things that come one after another in a particular order. □ [+ of ] …the sequence of events which led to the murder. □ [+ of ] …a dazzling sequence of novels by John Updike.
2 N‑COUNT A particular sequence is a particular order in which things happen or are arranged. □ …the colour sequence yellow, orange, purple, blue, green and white. □ The chronological sequence gives the book an element of structure.
3 N‑COUNT A film sequence is a part of a film that shows a single set of actions. □ The best sequence in the film occurs when Roth stops at a house he used to live in.
4 N‑COUNT A gene sequence or a DNA sequence is the order in which the elements making up a particular gene are combined. □ The project is nothing less than mapping every gene sequence in the human body. □ [+ of ] …the complete DNA sequence of the human genome.
5 VERB To sequence genes is to determine the order in which the elements that make them up are combined. □ [V n] The technique offers a means of sequencing the human genome much more quickly. ● se|quenc|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ DNA sequencing has become more advanced.
se|quenc|er /siː kwənsə r / (sequencers ) N‑COUNT A sequencer is an electronic instrument that can be used for recording and storing sounds so that they can be replayed as part of a new piece of music.
se|quenc|ing /siː kwəns I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Gene sequencing or DNA sequencing involves identifying the order in which the elements making up a particular gene are combined. □ …the U.S. government's own gene sequencing programme.
se|quen|tial /s I kwe nʃ ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Something that is sequential follows a fixed order. [FORMAL ] □ …the sequential story of the universe. ● se|quen|tial|ly ADV [ADV after v] □ The pages are numbered sequentially.
se|ques|ter /s I kwe stə r / (sequesters , sequestering , sequestered )
1 VERB Sequester means the same as sequestrate . [LEGAL ] □ [be V -ed] Everything he owned was sequestered. [Also V n]
2 VERB If someone is sequestered somewhere, they are isolated from other people. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed] This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.
se|ques|tered /s I kwe stə r d/ ADJ A sequestered place is quiet and far away from busy places. [LITERARY ]
se|ques|trate /siː kwestre I t/ (sequestrates , sequestrating , sequestrated ) VERB [usu passive] When property is sequestrated , it is taken officially from someone who has debts, usually after a decision in a court of law. If the debts are paid off, the property is returned to its owner. [LEGAL ] □ [be V -ed] He tried to prevent union money from being sequestrated by the courts. ● se|ques|tra|tion /siː kwestre I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the sequestration of large areas of land.
se|quin /siː kw I n/ (sequins ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Sequins are small, shiny discs that are sewn on clothes to decorate them. □ The frocks were covered in sequins, thousands of them.
se|quinned /siː kw I nd/ also sequined ADJ [usu ADJ n] A sequinned piece of clothing is decorated or covered with sequins. □ …a strapless sequinned evening gown.
ser|aph /se rəf/ (seraphim /se rəf I m/ or seraphs ) N‑COUNT In the Bible, a seraph is a kind of angel.
Serbo-Croat /sɜː r boʊ kroʊ æt/ N‑UNCOUNT Serbo-Croat is one of the languages spoken in the former Yugoslavia.
ser|enade /se r I ne I d/ (serenades , serenading , serenaded )