fur seal

American

noun

any of several eared seals, as Callorhinus alascanus, having a plush underfur used in making coats, trimmings, etc.

fur seal British

noun

any of various eared seals, esp of the genus Arctocephalus , that have a fine dense underfur and are hunted as a source of sealskin

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fur seal

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

fur seal

Of those, six species tested positive for the H5N1 strain: the southern elephant seal, king and gentoo penguins, the Antarctic fur seal and the South George diving petrel.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

For the study, scientists collected brain samples from four sea lions, one fur seal and a tern found dead at the most affected sea lion rookery in Argentina.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 28, 2024

Unsurprisingly, the fur seal is almost universally regarded as adorable.

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2023

Juicebox, a northern fur seal pup, had been attacked by an off-leash dog in San Francisco’s Ocean Beach when marine mammal rescuers found him in October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2023

“The shark probably ate a fur seal recently.”

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023