Cereal is a grain used for food, what you can eat for breakfast with milk. Serial describes something that happens on a regular basis, like your habit of putting money in the piggy bank every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Whether oatmeal, granola, or bran flakes, cereal is from the Latin Cerealis, which means "of grain." The word is derived from the name "Ceres," who was the Roman goddess of agriculture. Here are a few tasty uses of cereal:

Pearl was in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal. (Little Fires Everywhere)

I get a bowl and pour myself some of the cereal with almonds and dried berries and add milk. (Amina’s Song)

Monthly magazines and weekly TV shows are called serials, because they are sequential productions. If you exercise twice a week, those are serial workouts. And, if you treat yourself to a candy bar every time after you exercise, you can call yourself a serial snacker! Here are some examples of serial in action:

After the stitches are removed, Sene will undergo serial X-ray exams every two weeks to follow the bone healing process, according to Saliba. (Washington Post)

It is always a challenge to introduce a major cast change in a long-running serial. (The New York Times)

The Bureau of Labor issues three serials which ought to be found in every library. (Government Documents in Small Libraries)

Remember, the "c" in cereal requires chewing. And, it tastes good! You can remember that serial starts with "s" because it describes shows or other things that occur sequentially.