Etymology From Middle English sel, from an inflectional form of Old English seolh, from Proto-West Germanic *selh, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (compare Scots selch,selkie, North Frisian selich, Middle Dutch seel, zēle, Old High German selah, Danish sæl, Middle Low German sale, Icelandic selur), either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare dialectal Finnish hylki, standard hylje, Estonian hüljes).
Government, Military, Politics, WarAbbreviation, Ellipsis Ellipsis of Navy SEAL (“member of the Sea, Air, Land unit”).
Enough people connected to the SEALs and the bin Laden mission have confirmed for me that the Shooter was the "number two" behind the raid's point man going up the stairs to bin Laden's third-floor residence […] The point man is the only one besides the Shooter who could verify the kill shots firsthand, and he did just that to another SEAL I spoke with.2013 February 11, Phil Bronstein, “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden… Is Screwed”, in Esquire Magazine, archived from the original on 01 Mar 2017:
Etymology From Middle English sel, from an inflectional form of Old English seolh, from Proto-West Germanic *selh, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (compare Scots selch,selkie, North Frisian selich, Middle Dutch seel, zēle, Old High German selah, Danish sæl, Middle Low German sale, Icelandic selur), either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare dialectal Finnish hylki, standard hylje, Estonian hüljes).
1
A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal.
The seals in the harbor looked better than they smelled.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English sel, sele, from Anglo-Norman seel, from Latin sigillum, a diminutive of signum (“sign”). Doublet of sigil and sigillum.
To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality.
to seal weights and measures
to seal silverware
3
To fasten (something) so that it cannot be opened without visible damage.
The cover is sealed. If anyone tries to open it, we'll know about it.
4
To prevent people or vehicles from crossing (something).
The border has been sealed until the fugitives are found.
5
To close securely to prevent leakage.
I've sealed the bottle to keep the contents fresh.
Seal up your lips, and give no words but "mum".1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
6
To place in a sealed container.
I've sealed the documents in this envelope.
7
Board games, Chess, Games To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment.
After thinking for half an hour, the champion sealed his move.
8
To guarantee.
The last-minute goal sealed United’s win.
seal one's destiny
3 more examples
seal someone's fate
seal a job or a contract
England's first-half display contained much to admire but it was a sign of their wastefulness in front of goal that it took the injury-time intervention from Kane to seal victory.2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 21 Apr 2019:
9
To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement or plaster, etc.
Sealed to this wall by their rims were cazuelas ( earthenware bowls).1898, The American Archaeologist, page 267:
After testing is concluded and it has been determined that the drilled well is to be completed as a producing or fluid-injection well, or that operations are to be suspended, the final string of casing is placed in the well and sealed to the penetrated formation with cement.1971, Environmental Conservation, the Oil and Gas Industries, page 127:
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The PVC was then sealed to the plastered foundation with a 3-inch-wide band of PVC-to-concrete adhesive applied above the Thiokol.1974, Ruins Stabilization in the Southwestern United States, page 40:
The blowing device consists of a glass vessel with a hollow perforated cylinder sealed to its base, and two side tubes sealed at opposite ends of the vessel.1974, Egyptian Journal of Physics - Volumes 5-6, page 2:
10
To close by means of a seal.
to seal a drainpipe with water
When the silicone rubber has set the plaster pieces are replaced, followed by the lid, which is sealed to the mother-mould with plaster and bandage as previously described.2008, Sandra Davison, R.G. Newton, Conservation and Restoration of Glass, page 301:
If a man once married desires a second helpmate […] she is sealed to him under the solemn sanction of the church.1852, Howard Stansbury, An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah:
She can be sealed to this other man and still remain with her first husband; and the Mormons believe that all her children will belong to the man to whom she is sealed.1870, Aaron Harrison Cragin, Execution of Laws in Utah, page 9:
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Next, I was sealed to my fourteenth wife, Emeline Vaughn. In 1851, I was sealed to my fifteenth wife, Mary Lear Groves. In 1856, I was sealed to my sixteenth wife, Mary Ann Williams.2001, Richard W. Slatta, The Mythical West, page 197:
In temples of God, families are eternally sealed through this power. Couples who enter into the Covenant of Eternal Marriage are sealed together, meaning that their union on earth is also valid in the heavens, rather than ending at death. Children who are subsequently born to them or later sealed to them are theirs for eternity… In addition, temple sealings are performed by proxy for the dead, with spouses sealed to each other and children sealed to parents.2010, Christopher Kimball Bigelow, Jonathan Langford, The Latter-day Saint Family Encyclopedia, page 306:
What was that office, or work, to which his Father sealed him? I answer, more generally, he was sealed to the whole work of mediation for us, thereby to recover and save all the elect, whom the Father had given him:1836, John Flavel, The Fountain of Life Opened; Or, A Display of Christ in His Essential and Mediatorial Glory. 1671, page 44:
Perfectly so, I tell thee, of the sealed people who have come in through unbelief, pretending themselves to be children of the kingdom, that they are sealed to be heirs of the promise, but have come in as thieves and robbers.1861, Joanna Southcott, Lavinia Elizabeth C. Jones, The scriptures of the holy Trinity, page 88:
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Let us all strive to get ourselves sealed to redemption, seeing God doth seal those whom he will deliver in that great day; if we be not in this number, we shall not escape damnation.1866, Paul Baynes, An Entire Commentary Upon the Whole Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, page 81:
Thus these representatives of humanity are first sealed to help with the final work of salvation.2015, Uchenna Mezue, Hidden In Plain Sight: A Study of the Revelation to John:
13
Cooking, Food, Lifestyle To fry (meat) at a high temperature to retain the juices.
Seal the meat and continue frying until nicely browned.1993, Daran Little, Life and Times at the Rovers Return, page 113:
Etymology Inherited from Middle English sel, sele, from Anglo-Norman seel, from Latin sigillum, a diminutive of signum (“sign”). Doublet of sigil and sigillum.
A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax.
She [Nature] carved thee for her seal, and meant thereby Thou shouldst print more, not let that copy die.1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 11”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
2
An impression of such stamp on wax, paper or other material used for sealing.
3
A facsimile of an impression of such stamp that is a mark or symbol of an office or organisation.
The front of the podium bore the presidential seal.
So the matter rested until the Cranbrook & Paddock Wood Company was incorporated on August 8, 1877, appropriately displaying a bunch of hops on its seal, for these had become the principal cash crop in the area.1960 March, H. P. White, “The Hawkhurst branch of the Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 170:
4
Anything that secures or authenticates.
5
Something which will be visibly damaged if a covering or container is opened, and which may or may not bear an official design.
The result was declared invalid, as the seal on the meter had been broken.
Seals were placed on the papal apartment on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and on the apartment on the second floor of the Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis lived.2025 April 21, Devin Watkins, “Pope Francis has died on Easter Monday aged 88”, in Vatican News:
6
Figuratively Confirmation or approval, or an indication of this.
Her clothes always had her mom's seal of approval.
7
Something designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking through a joint.
The canister is leaking. I think the main seal needs to be replaced.
8
A tight closure, secure against leakage.
Close the lid tightly to get a good seal.
9
A chakra.
Derived terms
186 termsAccuPort seal, apex seal, balanced seal, bellows seal, blow fill seal, blue seal, Bodok seal, border seal, break seal, break the seal, Bridgman seal, broad seal, burning seal, button seal, cartridge seal, Chinese seal, chipseal, chip seal, Christmas seal, clay seal, collation of seals, company seal, compartmented seal, compression seal, compressor seal, concentric dual seal, Confederate Seal, contract under seal, corporate seal, counter-seal, crankshaft seal, cup seal, cylinder seal, diaphragm seal, door seal, double balanced seal, double seal, dry gas seal, dry seal, dual seal, dynamic seal, enamelled seal, externally pressurized seal, face seal, face-to-face seals, farthing seal, fin seal, fisherman's seal, fisher's seal, flange seal, gigaseal, given under my hand and seal, glass-ceramic-to-metal seal, glass seal, golden seal, golden-seal, goldenseal, grease seal, Great Seal, great seal, green seal, green-seal, guide seal, gum-seal, hand and seal, Hermes' seal, hermetic seal, hot seal, hydrodynamic seal, hydrostatic seal, impression seal, inside-mounted seal, Keeper of the Seals, Knights Templar Seal, labyrinth seal, lady's seal, lip seal, LMLK seal, Luther seal, magnetic seal, mechanical face seal, mechanical seal, medicine seal, misseal, official seal, oil seal, orbital reducer seal, outside-mounted seal, palatal seal, peripheral seal, piston seal, posterior palatal seal, postpalatal seal, presidential seal, primary seal, privacy seal, privy seal, pusher seal, radial shaft seal, rotary seal, rotating face mechanical seal, royal seal, sanitary seal, scaraboid seal, seal assembly, seal at arms, seal of arms, seal-bag, sealbore, seal chamber, seal coating, seal-cup, seal-cylinder, seal-day, seal-engraving, seal face, seal face width, seal-flower, sealing washer, seal leak, sealless, seallike, seal-lock, seal lock, Seal-Lock, Sealock, sealmaker, sealmaking, seal manual, seal-master, seal of approval, seal of confession, seal of the confessional, seal-office, seal of quality, seal of relics, Seal of Solomon, seal of the demons, Seal of the Prophets, seal on a bedsheet, seal-pipe, seal point, seal-press, seal presser, seal receptacle, seal ring, seal-ring, seal script, seal-stamp, seal stone, seal swell, seal-top, seal-wax, sealwax, seal-work, seal-wort, secre seal, secret seal, set one's seal, set the seal on, set to one's seal, set to seal, shaft seal, Solomonseal, Solomon's seal, stamp seal, state seal, stationary seal, surface sealing, sylphon seal, tandem seals, tarseal, the seven seals, trap seal, unbalanced seal, under one's seal, under seal, Underseal, underseal, under the cold seal, unseal, velopharyngeal seal, watch-seal, water seal, weather seal, wiper seal