Meaning & use
seal
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A sea mammal with flippers and a smooth body that lives in cold waters and rests on shore or ice.
Grammar: A regular noun; the plural is seals.
Patterns
- a seal on the rocks
A seal lay on the rocks warming itself in the sun.
The boat trip took us close to a colony of seals.
Seals can hold their breath for a long time underwater.
nouncountable
An official mark, stamp or wax impression on a document that shows it is genuine or approved.
Grammar: Often with of: the seal of approval.
Patterns
- the seal of approval
- under seal
The letter bore the king's seal in red wax.
The certificate carries the university seal.
The product earned a seal of approval from the safety board.
nouncountable
A tight closing that keeps air, water or liquid from passing through.
Grammar: Can be a strip of rubber or a lid: the seal on the jar.
Patterns
- the seal on something
- a tight seal
The seal around the freezer door has worn out.
Check that the jar has an airtight seal.
A broken seal on the pipe caused the leak.
verbtransitive
To close something tightly so that nothing can get in or out.
Grammar: Takes an object: seal the envelope.
Patterns
- seal something with something
- seal something up
- seal something off
She sealed the envelope and put on a stamp.
Workers sealed the cracks with putty.
Police sealed off the street after the accident.
verbtransitive
To make something final and certain, so it cannot be changed.
Grammar: Often used with deal, fate or victory: seal the deal.
Patterns
- seal a deal
- seal someone's fate
A handshake sealed the deal.
A late goal sealed the victory for the home team.
His rude answer sealed his fate in the interview.
Word forms
| plural | seals |
|---|---|
| third person singular | seals |
| past tense | sealed |
| past participle | sealed |
| -ing form | sealing |
Common combinations
- seal the deal
- A discount helped seal the deal.
- seal of approval
- The film got the critics' seal of approval.
- airtight seal
- Make sure the lid makes an airtight seal.
- seal off an area
- Officers sealed off the area around the building.
- break the seal
- Do not break the seal until you are ready to use it.
- sealed envelope
- The results arrived in a sealed envelope.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stamp
- A stamp is an inked or pressed mark made with a tool, while a seal can be wax, a badge or a tight closure.
- close
- Close is the general word for shutting, whereas seal means closing tightly so nothing passes through.
- clinch
- Clinch means to settle a deal or result finally, and is a close fit for the figurative sense of seal.
- plug
- Plug means filling a hole, while seal can cover a whole joint or opening.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: seal or sea lion? seal or ceiling?
seal vs sea lion
A sea lion is a different animal with visible ear flaps that uses its front flippers to walk on land, whereas true seals have no ear flaps.
seal vs ceiling
A ceiling is the top surface of a room, a different word that is sometimes misspelled as sealing.
Practice
In which sentence does seal mean to make something final?
Choose one answer.
Sealed the agreement means made it final. The second sentence is about closing tightly, the third about an animal and the fourth about a stamp.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “seal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.