tamper seal

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable

   A strip or mark that breaks or changes when someone opens or alters a container, showing it has been interfered with.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a tamper seal' or 'tamper seals'. Often used with 'on': 'the tamper seal on the bottle'.

   Patterns

   • tamper seal on something
   • break the tamper seal
   • check the tamper seal

   Always check the tamper seal on the medicine bottle before you take any pills.

   The jar had a broken tamper seal, so we threw the food away.

   Security staff looked at the tamper seal on the evidence bag to make sure it was intact.

Word forms

Common combinations

break the tamper seal

Someone had broken the tamper seal before we bought the product.

intact tamper seal

Only buy the item if the tamper seal is intact.

tamper-evident seal

The package uses a tamper-evident seal to show if it has been opened.

check the tamper seal

The inspector checked the tamper seal on each container.

Synonyms and how they differ

security seal

A broader term for any seal that protects against unauthorized access, often used for tamper seals on bags or containers.

tamper-evident seal

A more formal term that emphasizes the seal's purpose of showing if tampering has occurred; often used interchangeably with 'tamper seal'.

Word family

tamper verb

To interfere with something in a harmful or unauthorized way.

tamper-proof adjective

Designed so that it cannot be tampered with.

Commonly confused: tamper seal or tamper?

Practice

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