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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

"Investors do think it's going to pass. But until it's signed, sealed and delivered, there is always the element of what if."

From Reuters • May 31, 2023

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

From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2022

Reciprocal contracts covering all future grade-crossing matters were signed; and duplicate copies of the peace treaty, signed, sealed and delivered.

From The Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg RailRoad by Hungerford, Edward

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