noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
CMU ARPABET:M IH1 N IH0 S EH2 R IY0 Z
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:M IH1 N IY0 S EH2 R IY0 Z
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A radio or television series with a small number of episodes not intended to last a complete season.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
My favorite miniseries of all time is the old BBC adaptation of "I, Claudius".
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A relatively short comic book series with a predetermined number of instalments.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Paleo-Hispanicbor. Latin Minius Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Italic *-om Latin -um Latin minium Italian minio Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Italian -are Italian miniare Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh2? Latin -tūra Italian -tura Italian miniaturabor. English miniature English mini- Proto-Indo-European *ser-der. Proto-Italic *serō Latin serō Proto-Italic *-jēs Latin -iēs Latin seriēsbor. English series English miniseries From mini- + series.
Across languages
Translations
9 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
minisèrie
— series with a small number of episodes
Chinese Mandarin:
迷你剧
(mínǐjù)
— series with a small number of episodes
Finnish:
minisarja
— series with a small number of episodes
Hungarian:
minisorozat
— series with a small number of episodes
Italian:
miniserie
— series with a small number of episodes
Korean:
미니시리즈
(minisirijeu)
— series with a small number of episodes
Polish:
miniserial
— series with a small number of episodes
Portuguese:
minissérie
— series with a small number of episodes
Spanish:
miniserie
— series with a small number of episodes