Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: sérieux, from Late Latin seriosus, from Latin serius

serious

 adjective
     
se‧ri‧ous S1 W1
1

situation/problem

a serious situation, problem, accident etc is extremely bad or dangerous:
the serious problem of unemployment
Luckily, the damage was not serious.
serious injury/illness/accident etc
a serious accident on the freeway
Oil spills pose a serious threat to marine life.
Serious crimes have increased dramatically.
2

be serious

a) if someone is serious about something they say, they really mean it and are not joking or pretending
be serious about
Is she serious about giving up her job?
I'm serious (=used to emphasize that you mean what you say)
deadly/dead serious (=definitely not joking)
She sounded dead serious.
b) spoken used to tell someone that what they have just said is silly or that you do not believe it:
'It's enough to make anyone commit murder!' 'Be serious, Jo.'
3

important

important and needing a lot of thought or attention:
This is a very serious matter.
the serious business of earning a living
Be quiet, Jim. This is serious.
a serious article
serious attention/consideration/thought (=careful and thorough attention etc)
I'll give your suggestion serious consideration.
4

large amount

[only before noun] informal used to emphasize that you are talking about a large amount of something:
The President was in serious trouble.
In industry, you can earn serious money.
5

romantic relationship

a serious romantic relationship is likely to continue for a long time:
It's serious - they've been seeing each other for six months.
serious about
Are you really serious about her?
6

person

someone who is serious is very quiet and sensible
7

sport/activity

[only before noun] very interested in an activity or subject, and spending a lot of time doing it:
He's become a serious golfer since he retired.
Chris is a serious photographer.
8

very good

[only before noun] informal very good and often expensive:
He's got a serious car!
9

worried/unhappy

slightly worried or unhappy:
You look serious. What's wrong?
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

ADVERTISING AND MARKETINGANIMALSBANKING
BIOLOGYBUSINESS BASICSCOMPUTERS
CLOTHESDAILY LIFEEDUCATION
FINANCEFOODGRAMMAR
HAIR AND BEAUTYHUMANLAW
MUSICNATURESPORT
STOCKS AND SHARESTECHNOLOGYTRADE