seal1
/siːl
/noun
1A device or substance that is used to join two things together so as to prevent them coming apart or to prevent anything passing between them: attach a draught seal to the door itself...
- The quality of the new seal creates a tighter seal, thus protecting the integrity of the product.
- The molded-in membrane creates a much better seal than anything on the market today.
- Bah, humbug, I say as I scrape the mould off the rubber window seals.
Synonyms
sealant, sealer, adhesive
1.1 [in singular] The state or fact of being joined or rendered impervious with a seal: many fittings have tapered threads for a better seal...
- While the seal remains intact, the system will report that fact as well, said Steve Farrell, director of product management for hardware at Savi.
- The molded-in membrane creates a much better seal than anything on the market today.
1.2The water standing in the trap of a drain to prevent foul air from rising, considered in terms of its depth: for most domestic applications, a 75 mm seal is required...
- Where a trap seal is subject to loss by evaporation, a deep-seal trap consisting of a 4-inch (102 mm) seal or a trap seal primer valve shall be installed.
- Someone finally came up with the concept of a water seal trap.
- This P trap has a 1-½ inch water seal to keep sewer gases from entering the building from the drainage system.
2A piece of wax, lead, or other material with an individual design stamped into it, attached to a document as a guarantee of authenticity.He replied, handing her a letter with a navy blue wax seal....
- I looked at the inky black lettering once more before I broke the wax seal.
- The seal was usually impressed on red wax, but was occasionally seen imprinted on a wafer stuck to the instrument with soft wax.
Synonyms
emblem, symbol, insignia, device, badge, crest, coat of arms, token, mark, monogram, stamp
2.1A design resembling a seal embossed in paper as a guarantee of authenticity.The center has tested prototypes for food ecolabels - seals or logos indicating that a product has met a certain set of environmental and/or social standards....
- His seal was embossed on the right side of the bottom margin (difficult to see).
- Each course was listed, dated, signed by Fred and a raised seal was embossed on the page.
2.2An engraved device used for stamping a seal.The seals were generally cut from steatite and were carved in intaglio or incised with a copper burin (cutting tool)....
- Sometimes the seals were not rings but stamps of other kinds, but if it was a ring worn then it was even more creditworthy as only the wearer could make the seal on the document.
2.3A decorative adhesive stamp.The US Christmas seal of 1925 features holly and mistletoe behind the candles.
3A thing regarded as a confirmation or guarantee of something: the monarchy is the seal of the unbroached integrity of the Isles...
- Human rights campaigners worry that it substantially lowers the standard for an international tribunal - while bearing the seal of U.N. approval.
- Students could subscribe not only to particular areas of knowledge but to particular types of annotations, such as commentary or seals of approval.
- Kitemarks or seals of approval are usually based on checklists of desirable attributes of quality or some other feature of the information.
4 (the seal) (also the seal of confession or the seal of the confessional) The obligation on a priest not to divulge anything said during confession: I was told under the seal...
- Is a man bound to hide what he knows under the seal of confession in every case?
- Therefore, there is no reason to think that the Seal of Confession would not have been observed in the Church of England.
- A priest cannot break the seal to save his own life, to protect his name, to refute a false accusation, to save the life of another, to aid the course of justice, or to avert a public calamity.
verb [with object]
1Fasten or close securely: he folded it, sealed the envelope, and walked to the postbox...
- Improved packaging also includes using special wrappers, seals, or caps on the outer and/or inner containers, or sealing each dose in its own pouch.
- The viral solutions would survive the UV lights only because he would seal the syringes in an opaque biohazard container before leaving.
- Dried seeds were sealed in plastic containers and stored at - 20° to prevent them from after-ripening prior to use.
Synonyms
fasten, secure, shut, close up, lock, bolt, board up
stop up, seal up, make airtight, make watertight, close, shut, cork, stopper, stop, plug, block, block up, bung up, clog, clog up, choke, occlude, fill
1.1 (seal something in) Prevent something from escaping by closing a container or opening: ice formation at the surface can seal in water contained within pores in the rock...
- A coating of clear resin seals them in; the surfaces are polished, almost impenetrable.
- Within three minutes of getting out of the water apply a moisturizer to seal the water in the skin before it can evaporate.
- The strategy is to get water to be absorbed by the outer layer of skin, the stratum corneum and then to seal the water in the skin before it evaporates (which it will do rapidly).
1.2 (seal something off) Isolate an area by preventing or monitoring access to and from it: anti-terrorist squad officers sealed off the area to search for possible bombs...
- If it wasn't for the distant cordon of troops sealing the dock area off there wouldn't have been a soldier visible anywhere.
- Work on this project will not start until the whole area is sealed off and precautions are put in place to prevent an outbreak of the bug aspergillis among patients.
- Areas around both shops were sealed off as forensic teams worked to gather clues.
Synonyms
close off, shut off, cordon off, fence off, form a ring around, put a cordon sanitaire round, isolate, quarantine, segregate
2Apply a non-porous coating to (a surface) to make it impervious: the pine boarding should be sealed with polyurethane...
- They have been working to make the gel suitable for sealing cracks in oil wells to prevent water seeping through, and have now been awarded a contract to use it in five sites.
- Frankly I'd feel much happier with a billion dollars being spent sealing roads in the outback than building tunnels and freeways in the cities which just generate more traffic.
- The water stress treatments in the present study used containers sealed with parafilm to minimize water loss.
3Fry (food) briefly at a high temperature to prevent it from losing moisture during subsequent cooking: heat the oil and seal the lamb on both sides...
- If you are cooking duck breast, you can remove the skin before sealing the outer flesh in a pan and oven roasting.
- Remove from the bag draining the juices off before sealing the meat in a pan with hot oil.
- Season the fillet by rubbing it with salt, pepper and olive oil, then seal the fillet in a hot fry pan and add the mushrooms, this will ensure that they soak up the flavours which the beef may leave in the pan.
4Conclude, establish, or secure (something) definitively: to seal the deal he offered Thornton a place on the board of the company...
- His bronze was Britain's third medal of the Games, sealing a remarkable turnaround in fortune after a dismal first week.
- Chasing a victory target of 80 after dismissing their opponents for 170 earlier today, the tourists sealed their comfortable triumph in just 17.2 overs.
- He saluted the match winner's wonder strike as York City sealed their first win in seven attempts with a stirring 3-2 victory over Leyton Orient.
Synonyms
clinch, secure, settle, conclude, complete, establish;
set the seal on, cap, wind up, close
informal sew up
5Fix a piece of wax or lead stamped with a design to (a document) to authenticate it.And he sealed the document with the seal of arms that his grandfather had worn.
Phrases
my (or his etc.) lips are sealed
put (or set) the seal on
seal someone's fate
set (or put) one's seal to (or on)
Derivatives
sealable
- And if you do care but need ‘to go’ orders, bring a sealable plastic bag to take home the recyclable goods.
- Each kit comes with a sealable bag, a consent form and instructions.
- Pour hot water over the teabags in a sealable thermos if possible.
Origin
Middle English (in sense 2 of the noun): from Old French seel (noun), seeler (verb), from Latin sigillum 'small picture', diminutive of signum 'a sign'.
Rather than signing their name, people formerly stamped a personal seal in wax on a completed letter or other document. The expressions put the seal on, ‘to put the finishing touch to something’, and set your seal to, ‘to mark something with your own distinctive character’, both derive from this. To seal something off reflects the use of seals to check that something has not been opened or disturbed. In these and related uses, seal goes back to Latin sigillum ‘small picture’, from signum ‘a sign’, the source of design (late 16th century), designate (mid 17th century), ensign (Late Middle English), insignia (mid 17th century), sign (Middle English), signal (Late Middle English), scarlet, and numerous other English words. This seal dates from Middle English. The name of the animal seal derives from Old English seolh, the source also of the selkie or silkie (mid 16th century), the mysterious seal woman of folklore.
Rhymes
seal2
/siːl/noun
1A fish-eating aquatic mammal with a streamlined body and feet developed as flippers, that returns to land to breed or rest.
- Families Phocidae (the true seals) and Otariidae (the eared seals, including the fur seals and sea lions). The latter have external ear flaps and are able to sit upright, and the males are much larger than the females.
- It is among the type A influenza viruses, which can affect humans as well as chickens, ducks, horses, seals, whales, and other animals.
- For example, among true seals, the sexually dimorphic species, the northern elephant seal has distinct differences in diving behavior between the sexes.
1.1 another term for sealskin.
verb [no object] (usually as noun sealing)
Hunt for seals: the sealing industry...
- There were always companies of ducks around when we were out sealing but we would never take a gun in the boat with us.
- Every spring for over 100 years, Newfoundland men had gone sealing, aware of the dangers from ice floes and storms.
- Today's elders remember how it was to go sealing and evidence from Ozette proves that the hunt is thousands of years old.
Origin
Old English seolh, of Germanic origin.
SEAL3
/siːl/(also Seal)
noun
A member of an elite force within the US Navy, specializing in guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency.After a military coup in Nigeria, the Seals are sent in to evacuate a small group of foreign nationals, primarily a doctor, from a local mission....
- The Seals operated under their own special type of morality, a morality that can justify almost anything that one does in wartime.
- Does anyone, for even a second, find him believable as an ex-Navy Seal?
Origin
1960s: abbreviation of 'sea, air, land (team)'.