sealing wax

American  

noun

1. a resinous preparation, soft when heated, used for sealing letters, documents, etc.

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sealing wax British  

noun

1. a hard material made of shellac, turpentine, and pigment that softens when heated. It is used for sealing documents, parcels, letters, etc

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Etymology

Origin of sealing wax

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sealing wax

There was a bit of sealing wax with a fingerprint, a brush entangled with strands of hair, and a set of lieutenants’ epaulets.

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2020

Here he places the deep red of the sealing wax next to the musky pink on the book’s cover.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2019

And you can take that anywhere you like — Christmas plus pizza, Christmas plus Bigfoot, Christmas plus Hanukkah, clouds, pigs, sealing wax, whatever.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2018

The man who revolutionized our understanding of the universe using little more than string and sealing wax would have watched with pride and hope.

From Scientific American ● Aug. 30, 2013

The cyclotron ran, “but it was held together with string and sealing wax, literally.”

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik