harbour seal

British

noun

a common earless seal, Phoca vitulina, that is greyish-black with paler markings: found off the coasts of North America, N Europe, and NE Asia

"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

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.

The lull was occasionally punctuated by the hollow roar of a male harbour seal, seeking to impress potential mates.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2021

A harbour seal pushed its head above the water, looked at the toiling men curiously for a moment, then disappeared below the surface, leaving an eddy where it had been.

From Ungava Bob A Winter's Tale by Wallace, Dillon

There are five varieties of them, the largest of which is the hood seal and the smallest the doter or harbour seal.

From Ungava Bob A Winter's Tale by Wallace, Dillon

The common harbour seal was there all the year round.

From The Wreckers of Sable Island by Oxley, J. Macdonald (James Macdonald)

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