What does "cereal" mean?
A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.
Cereal
/ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/ adj, name, noun
adj, name, noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains.
- Grammar: cereal is listed as adj, name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: grain, aftergrass, bamboo, botanic.
- Useful contrasts: noncereal, potatoes.
- Usage evidence: What the hell? That guy got his license from a cereal box!
How to use "cereal"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cereal" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cereal" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cereal" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cereal" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cereal" is acting as adj, name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "grain" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cereal", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of grass (such as wheat, rice or oats) cultivated for its edible grains. countable
- 2 a breakfast food prepared from grain wordnet
- 3 The grains of such a grass. uncountable
- 4 foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses wordnet
- 5 Breakfast cereal. uncountable
"Would you like some cereal?"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat, rice, rye, oats, maize, buckwheat, millet wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to cereal. not-comparable
"Wheat .. is, of all the cereal seeds, the best adapted to the making of bread."
- 2 Of or relating to the goddess Ceres.
"By means of statues and coinage depicting his wife Livia in the guise of Ceres and himself in the Cereal crown of the Arval Brethren, Augustus implied that his own godlike charisma helped keep the plebeians fed […]"
Adjective
- 1 made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A village in Alberta, Canada.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"What the hell? That guy got his license from a cereal box!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cereal"?
Common synonyms include: grain, aftergrass, bamboo, botanic, botanical, breakfast cereal.
How do you use "cereal" in a sentence?
What the hell? That guy got his license from a cereal box!
How do you pronounce "cereal"?
Pronounced /ˈsɪɹ.i.əl/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French céréale (“having to do with cereal”), from Latin Cerealis (“of or relating to Ceres”), from Ceres (“Roman goddess of agriculture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“grow”), from which also Latin sincerus (English sincere) and Latin crēscō (“grow”) (English crescent).