seal
verb/siːl/
/siːl/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they seal | /siːl/ /siːl/ |
| he / she / it seals | /siːlz/ /siːlz/ |
| past simple sealed | /siːld/ /siːld/ |
| past participle sealed | /siːld/ /siːld/ |
| -ing form sealing | /ˈsiːlɪŋ/ /ˈsiːlɪŋ/ |
- seal something (up/down) to close an envelope, etc. by sticking the edges of the opening together
- Make sure you've signed the cheque before sealing the envelope.
- a sealed bid (= one that is kept in a sealed envelope and therefore remains secret until all other bids have been received)
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- [often passive] to close a container tightly or fill a small opening, etc., especially so that air, liquid, etc. cannot get in or out
- seal something (with something) He sealed the bag tightly with sticky tape.
- be sealed (up) (with something) The windows and doors had been sealed up with bricks.
- The organs are kept in sealed plastic bags.
Extra Examples- The containers must be carefully sealed so that no air can get in.
- The whole unit is sealed to prevent dust getting in.
- The unit is completely sealed.
- a hermetically sealed container
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- properly
- tightly
- …
- from
- with
- seal something to make something definite, so that it cannot be changed or argued about
- to seal a contract
- They shook hands to seal the deal.
- The discovery of new evidence sealed his fate (= nothing could prevent what was going to happen to him).
- She sealed victory with a birdie at the final hole.
- [often passive] seal something (with something) to cover the surface of something with a substance in order to protect it
- The floors had been stripped and sealed with varnish.
- seal something (of the police, army, etc.) to prevent people from passing through a place
- Troops have sealed the borders between the countries.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- carefully
- properly
- tightly
- …
- from
- with
close envelope
close container
make something definite
cover surface
close borders/exits
Word Originverb Middle English (in senses (2), (5) and (6)): from Old French seel (noun), seeler (verb), from Latin sigillum ‘small picture’, diminutive of signum ‘a sign’.
Idioms
See seal in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee seal in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishmy lips are sealed
- used to say that you will not repeat somebody’s secret to other people
signed and sealed | signed, sealed and delivered
- definite, because all the legal documents have been signed
- The contracts are already signed and sealed.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
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seal