CEREAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cereal mean? 

• CEREAL (noun)
  The noun CEREAL has 3 senses:

1. grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet

2. foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses

3. a breakfast food prepared from grain

  Familiarity information: CEREAL used as a noun is uncommon.

• CEREAL (adjective)
  The adjective CEREAL has 1 sense:

1. made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it

  Familiarity information: CEREAL used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CEREAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

cereal; cereal grass

Hypernyms ("cereal" is a kind of...):

grass (narrow-leaved green herbage: grown as lawns; used as pasture for grazing animals; cut and dried as hay)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cereal"):

wild rice; Zizania aquatica (perennial aquatic grass of North America bearing grain used for food)

corn ((Great Britain) any of various cereal plants (especially the dominant crop of the region--wheat in Great Britain or oats in Scotland and Ireland))

corn; Indian corn; maize; Zea mays (tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times)

wheat (annual or biennial grass having erect flower spikes and light brown grains)

grain (a cereal grass)

millet (any of various small-grained annual cereal and forage grasses of the genera Panicum, Echinochloa, Setaria, Sorghum, and Eleusine)

rye; Secale cereale (hardy annual cereal grass widely cultivated in northern Europe where its grain is the chief ingredient of black bread and in North America for forage and soil improvement)

bulrush millet; cattail millet; pearl millet; Pennisetum Americanum; Pennisetum glaucum (tall grass having cattail like spikes; grown in Africa and Asia for its grain and in the United States chiefly for forage; sometimes used in making beer)

rice grass; ricegrass (any grass of the genus Oryzopsis)

rice (annual or perennial rhizomatous marsh grasses; seed used for food; straw used for paper)

barley (cultivated since prehistoric times; grown for forage and grain)

oat (annual grass of Europe and North Africa; grains used as food and fodder (referred to primarily in the plural: 'oats'))

Derivation:

cereal (made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

cereal; food grain; grain

Hypernyms ("cereal" is a kind of...):

food product; foodstuff (a substance that can be used or prepared for use as food)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cereal"):

malt (a cereal grain (usually barley) that is kiln-dried after having been germinated by soaking in water; used especially in brewing and distilling)

Indian rice; wild rice (grains of aquatic grass of North America)

rice (grains used as food either unpolished or more often polished)

oat (seed of the annual grass Avena sativa (spoken of primarily in the plural as 'oats'))

wheat; wheat berry (grains of common wheat; sometimes cooked whole or cracked as cereal; usually ground into flour)

barley; barleycorn (a grain of barley)

millet (small seed of any of various annual cereal grasses especially Setaria italica)

groats (the hulled and crushed grain of various cereals)

grist (grain intended to be or that has been ground)

corn; edible corn (ears of corn that can be prepared and served for human food)

buckwheat (grain ground into flour)

Derivation:

cereal (made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A breakfast food prepared from grain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("cereal" is a kind of...):

breakfast food (any food (especially cereal) usually served for breakfast)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cereal"):

hot cereal (a cereal that is served hot)

cold cereal; dry cereal (a cereal that is not heated before serving)

Pablum (a soft form of cereal for infants)

Derivation:

cereal (made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it)

• CEREAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Made of grain or relating to grain or the plants that produce it

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

cereal grasses

Pertainym:

grain (dry seed-like fruit produced by the cereal grasses: e.g. wheat, barley, Indian corn)

Derivation:

cereal (a breakfast food prepared from grain)

cereal (foodstuff prepared from the starchy grains of cereal grasses)

cereal (grass whose starchy grains are used as food: wheat; rice; rye; oats; maize; buckwheat; millet)

 Context examples 

Many cereals and some breads have added B vitamins.

(B Vitamins, NIH)

It is a contaminant of cereals, especially corn.

(Fumonisin B1, NCI Thesaurus)

Foods with folic acid in them include: • Leafy green vegetables • Fruits • Dried beans, peas, and nuts • Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products

(Folic Acid, NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements)

It said fortified infant cereals were relatively cheap in high- and upper middle-income countries but very expensive in low-income countries, where undernutrition in early childhood is most prevalent.

(High cost of healthy food to blame for malnutrition, SciDev.Net)

It is found in whole-grain breads and cereals, liver, green vegetables, orange juice, lentils, beans, and yeast.

(Folate, NCI Dictionary)

Fructoselysine is common in processed food, including ultra-pasteurized milk, pasta, chocolate and cereals.

(Human Gut Microbe Could Make Processed Foods Healthier, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A substance found in many foods that come from plants, including corn, wheat, rice, and soybeans, and in large amounts in cereals and legumes.

(Inositol hexaphosphate, NCI Dictionary)

"Super-Puffs" may sound like a new breakfast cereal.

('Cotton Candy' Planet Mysteries Unravel in New Hubble Observations, NASA)

It also includes some low-protein breads, pastas and cereals.

(Phenylketonuria, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)

Foods like milk, milk products like cheese and yogurt, fatty fish like mackerel and sardines, some greens like kale and collards and fortified cereals also are good sources.

(High Doses of Vitamin D Rapidly Reduce Arterial Stiffness, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)