{
    "term": "seal",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "seal",
            "heSheIt": "seals"
        },
        "pastSimple": "sealed",
        "pastParticiple": "sealed",
        "ingForm": "sealing"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to close an envelope, etc. by sticking the edges of the opening together",
            "sensetop": "seal something (up/down)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Make sure you've signed the document before sealing the envelope."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **sealed bid** *(= one that is kept in a sealed  and therefore remains secret until all other bids have been received)"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to close a container tightly or fill a small opening, etc., especially so that air, liquid, etc. cannot get in or out",
            "sensetop": "seal something (with something)be sealed (up) (with something)",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He sealed the bag tightly with sticky tape.",
                    "contextForm": "seal something (with something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The windows and doors had been sealed up with bricks.",
                    "contextForm": "be sealed (up) (with something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The evidence is kept in sealed plastic bags."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The containers must be carefully sealed so that no air can get in."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The whole unit is sealed to prevent dust getting in."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The unit is completely sealed."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a hermetically sealed container"
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["carefully", "properly", "tightly"],
                "preposition": ["from", "with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to make something definite, so that it cannot be changed or argued about",
            "sensetop": "seal something",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "to seal a contract"
                },
                {
                    "text": "They shook hands to seal the deal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The discovery of new evidence **sealed his fate** *(= nothing could prevent what was going to happen to him)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She sealed victory with a birdie at the final hole."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Discussion and agreement"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "to cover the surface of something with a substance in order to protect it",
            "sensetop": "seal something (with something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The floors had been stripped and sealed with varnish."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "to prevent people from passing through a place",
            "sensetop": "seal something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Troops have sealed the borders between the countries."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["carefully", "properly", "tightly"],
                "preposition": ["from", "with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "used to say that you will not repeat somebody’s secret to other people",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "definite, because all the legal documents have been signed",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The contracts are already signed and sealed."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːl/",
                "audio": "se/seal/seal__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːlz/",
                "audio": "se/seal/seals__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːld/",
                "audio": "se/seal/sealed__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsiːlɪŋ/",
                "audio": "se/seal/sealing__gb_2.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːl/",
                "audio": "se/seal/seal__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːlz/",
                "audio": "se/seal/seals__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/siːld/",
                "audio": "se/seal/sealed__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsiːlɪŋ/",
                "audio": "se/seal/sealing__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "verb Middle English (in senses (2), (5) and (6)): from Old French seel (noun), seeler (verb), from Latin sigillum ‘small picture’, diminutive of signum ‘a sign’."
}