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seal

1
[ seel ]
/ sil /
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noun
verb (used with object)
Verb Phrases
seal off,
  1. to close hermetically: to seal off a jar.
  2. to block (an entrance, area, etc.) completely so as to prevent escape or entrance: The police sealed off the area after the bomb threat was received.
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Idioms about seal

    set one's seal to, to give one's approval to; authorize; endorse: Both families have set their seal to the marriage.
    seal / close the deal. See entry at seal the deal.

Origin of seal

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun sel(e), selle, seal(e) “an identifying impressed mark on a document,” from Old French seel, seal(e), seil (French sceau ), from unattested Vulgar Latin sigellum, segellum, from Latin sigillum “statuette, flgure on a signet ring,” diminutive of signum “an identifying mark written, impressed, or affixed; point, impression”; verb sele(n), seale(n), seil(en), from Old French seeler, sealer, seieler, derivative of seel; see also sign

OTHER WORDS FROM seal

seal·a·ble, adjectivere·seal·a·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH seal

ceiling, sealing

Other definitions for seal (2 of 4)

seal2
[ seel ]
/ sil /

noun, plural seals, (especially collectively for 1) seal.
verb (used without object)
to hunt, kill, or capture seals.

Origin of seal

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English sel(e), cel(e), zel(e), Old English seolh; cognate with Old Norse selr, Old High German selah

OTHER WORDS FROM seal

seallike, adjective

Other definitions for seal (3 of 4)

seal3
[ seel ]
/ sil /

verb (used with object) Falconry.

Other definitions for seal (4 of 4)

SEAL
[ seel ]
/ sil /

noun
a member of the U.S. Navy’s special operations forces.

Origin of SEAL

se(a) a(ir) l(and) (team)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use seal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for seal (1 of 2)

seal1
/ (siːl) /

noun
verb (tr)

Derived forms of seal

sealable, adjective

Word Origin for seal

C13 seel, from Old French, from Latin sigillum little figure, from signum a sign

British Dictionary definitions for seal (2 of 2)

seal2
/ (siːl) /

noun
any pinniped mammal of the families Otariidae (eared seals) and Phocidae (earless seals) that are aquatic but come on shore to breedSee eared seal, earless seal Related adjectives: otarid, phocine
any earless seal (family Phocidae), esp the common or harbour seal or the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
sealskin
verb
(intr) to hunt for seals

Derived forms of seal

seal-like, adjective

Word Origin for seal

Old English seolh; related to Old Norse selr, Old High German selah, Old Irish selige tortoise
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

Scientific definitions for seal

seal
[ sēl ]

Any of various aquatic carnivorous mammals of the families Phocidae and Otariidae, having a sleek, torpedo-shaped body and limbs that are modified into paddlelike flippers. Seals live chiefly in the Northern Hemisphere and, like walruses, are pinnipeds.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with seal

seal

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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