signed, sealed, and delivered

Idioms

Completed satisfactorily, as in The house is sold—signed, sealed, and delivered. This idiom refers to a legal deed, which to be valid had to be signed by the seller, sealed with a wax seal, and delivered to the new owner. It began to be used more loosely in the first half of the 1900s.

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.

Don’t leap before you have your next role signed, sealed and delivered.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 28, 2025

The plea agreement was all but signed, sealed and delivered when it was presented in a Delaware federal court in July 2023, whereupon it stood to be swiftly consummated 999 times out of 1,000.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2024

LANDRUM: This award should be signed, sealed and delivered to Rodrigo.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2022

Friese said Ducey should have instead had the tribal gaming compacts signed, sealed and delivered and then asked lawmakers to approve new gambling outside of tribal casinos.

From Washington Times • Mar. 4, 2021

When the bond was fairly signed, sealed, and delivered, Mr. Close produced the poor weaver's bill.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 04 by Edgeworth, Maria

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