seal

seal1 [ sil ] verb transitive **

seal or seal up to close a container or space by covering it with something so that air or other substances cannot get in or out:

seal something with something: Seal the box with tape.

Small gaps can be sealed with wax.

a. seal an envelope to close an envelope by sticking down the top edge:

I stamped and sealed all the envelopes ready for mailing.

my lips are sealed SPOKEN

used for promising someone that you will not tell anyone else what they have said to you

seal someone's fate

to show or decide that something bad will definitely happen to someone:

Further floods may have sealed the fate of the few remaining villages.

seal a victory/deal/agreement etc.

to make a victory/deal/agreement etc. certain or complete:

Carter sealed the win with a spectacular dunk.

We shook hands to seal the deal.

=> SIGN 2

,seal `in phrasal verb transitive

to prevent the flavor, smell, or juice of a food from getting out:

The tomatoes are then heated to seal in the juices.

,seal `off phrasal verb transitive

to prevent people from entering an area or a building:

Police sealed off the area so that the investigations could begin.

,seal `up phrasal verb transitive

same as SEAL1:

The furniture is covered and the doors are sealed up with tape.

seal

seal 2 [ sil ] noun count **

1. ) a large ocean animal that eats fish and lives mainly in cold parts of the world. Seals are AMPHIBIOUS (=they can live both in water and on land). A young seal is called a pup.

2. ) a piece of something such as wire or WAX that seals a container and that you have to break before you can open the container

a ) a shaped piece of something such as rubber that closes a hole inside a machine so that air or other substances cannot get in or out:

I replaced the seal, but oil is still leaking out.

3. ) a special mark that you put on something, for example a document, to show that it is legal or official

set/put the seal on something BRITISH

to make something definite

=> SEAL OF APPROVAL