#                  M i4 'seal sth In sth to put sth in an envelope,

container, etc. and seal it  £••• M: The body

was sealed in a lead coffin,       0

.seal sth*-'off (of the police, army $ % , ? PA) to prevent people from entering a particular area ;

mm

m noun

►                 OFFICIAL MARK Ep $. 1 [C] an official design or mark,

stamped on a document to show that it is genuine and carries the authority of a particular person or organiza­tion Ep $; ®      ; M; Ep ifi: The letter bore the presi­

dent’s seal in±m&Mmpnt0

►                 MAKING STH DEFINITE f$ iA 2 [sing.] a thing that makes

sth definite ^ Arc 6$ iA £KJ ^   ; U iff;        The project

has been given the government’s seal of approval (= offi­cial approval).        0 I looked upon

the gift as a seal on our friendship.

►                 ON CONTAINERS 3 [C] a substance, strip of material,

etc. used to fill a crack so that air, liquid, etc. cannot get in or out         ) : a jar with a rubber

seal in the lid M i1 ± W ^ (ft ff P US 0 Only drink bottled water and check the seal isn’t broken. H nil UK

/jc, ffKwmjajnm.

►                 ON LETTERS/BOXES f;*f. #; t T 4 [C] a piece of wax (= a

soft substance produced by bees), soft metal or paper that is placed across the opening of sth such as a letter or box and which has to be broken before the letter or box can be opened     ij'fq;        A'M: He broke

the wax seal and unrolled the paper, iikjn

#                  ^ jf o 5 a piece of metal, a ring, etc. with a design

on it, used for stamping a wax or metal seal H

( Ep ) ;      ® )

►                 SEA ANIMAL 0 # fjjffl 6 [C] a sea animal that eats fish

and lives around coasts. There are many types of seal, some of which are hunted for their fur. 0 %}: a colony of seals      0 grey seals basking on the rocks AE A

rm set the seal on sth (formal) to make sth definite or complete     Her election

to the premiership set the seal on a remarkable political career.          under 'seal

(formal) (of a document Xi$) in a sealed envelope that cannot be opened before a particular time M; AlP M

epftr

'sea lane noun an official route at sea that is regularly used by ships

seal-ant /'siilant/ (also seal-er) noun [U, C] a substance that is put onto a surface to stop air, water, etc. from entering or escaping from it  $fj'&MM

'sea legs noun [pi.] the ability to walk easily on a moving ship and not to feel sick at sea ff.g

: it won’t take you long to find your

sea legs.

seal-er /'si:la(r)/ noun 1 = sealant 2 a person who hunts seals

'sea level noun [U] the average height of the sea/ocean, used as the basis for measuring the height of all places on land : 50 metres above sea level 0ffc 50 A

sea-lift /'siilift/ noun an operation to take people, soldiers, food, etc. to or from an area by ship, espe­cially in an emergency (

► sea-lift verb [VN] — compare airlift

seal-ing /'siiliq/ noun [U] the activity of hunting seals 0

mm

'sealing wax noun [U] a type of wax that melts quickly when it is heated and becomes hard quickly when it cools, used in the past for sealing letters, etc. M ;

AB

'sea lion noun a large seal (= a sea animal with thick fur, that eats fish and lives around the coast) that lives by the Pacific Ocean 0W

seal-skin /'sirlskin/ noun [U] the skin and fur of some types of seal, used for making clothes 0          fp

)

seam /si:m/ noun 1 a line along which two edges of cloth, etc. are joined or sewn together (   At W iA A

mm-, a shoulder seam    

2 a thin layer of coal or other material, between layers of rock under the ground M; M)%: They struck a rich seam of iron ore.        jf ttj—0 0 (figura­

tive) The book is a rich seam of information. A 4$ H — Jl A H (Hi iR o 3 a line where two edges meet, for example the edges of wooden boards ( fffE

)mm, mm, rnma^e

bursting/bulging at the seams (informaf) to be very full, especially of people A $1 A B ; {£ /l A HA ft be falling/coming apart at the seams (informal) to be going very badly wrong and likely to stop functioning completely  She was falling apart

at the seams, spending most of her time in tears. MJ W, fPfAtf T o — more at fray v. sea-man /‘simian/ noun (pi. -men /-man/) a member of the navy or a sailor on a ship below the rank of an officer 7k ^; tK A; 0 M: Seaman Bates « 7jt A Dl tfc >

0 a merchant seaman         — see also able seaman,

ORDINARY SEAMAN

sea-man-ship /'siimanJTp/ noun [U] skill in sailing a boat or ship

seamed /si:md/ adj. 1 having a seam or seams W C Sc ) m&j : seamed stockings fj m -fc W 2 (literary) covered with deep lines       : an old man with

a brown seamed face 'sea mile noun = nautical mile seam-less /'siimlas/ adj. 1 without a seam ft ( £1 ) m ^: a seamless garment ftmAM 2 with no spaces or pauses between one part and the next ( )

ftl^mtf),      a seamless flow of talk

► seam-less-ly adv.

seam-stress /'sirmstras; 'sem-/ noun (old-fashioned) a woman who can sew and make clothes or whose job is sewing and making clothes       A; ~kWtm

seamy /‘sirmi/ adj. (seam-ier, seami-est) unpleasant and immoral  PS771 sordid : a seamy

sex scandal i^S£W'l45.|^] 0 the seamier side of life

mmm

se ance /'seibs; NAmE ‘seiams/ noun a meeting at which people try to make contact with and talk to the spirits of dead people     )

sea-plane /'sirplein/ (NAmE also hydro-plane) noun a plane that can take off from and land on water 7jc ± A #1 — picture o page Rii

sea-port /'si:pa:t; NAmE -po:rt/ noun a town with a harbour used by large ships 0 ijT : the Baltic seaports   PMrfT

'sea power noun 1 [u] the ability to control the seas with a strong navy 0_tf)ik', 0W-XA 2 [C] a country with a strong navy

sea-quake /'siikweik/ noun a sudden powerful move­ment of the sea, caused by an earthquake or by volcanic activity under the sea 0M sear /sia(r); NAmE sir/ verb 1 [VN] to burn the surface of sth in a way that is sudden and powerful     ;

‘)$M; The heat of the sun seared their faces. 3fU g

tC jMl 1$ B0 \% T o 0 Sear the meat first (= cook the outside of it quickly at a high temperature) to retain its juices. A IE |£| fgS   'T UA U f# 1^1 vt „ 2 (formal) to cause

sb to feel sudden and great pain   : [V

+adv./prep.] The pain seared along her arm. Irtfe 1$ JJS 8?— lAM'J M o O [VN] Feelings of guilt seared him. fife I? ^ fa — see also searing

Search 0-w /S3:tj; NAmE S3irtJV noun, verb m noun 1 ~ (for sb/sth) an attempt to find sb/sth, espe­cially by looking carefully for them/it   @®

^^      : a long search for the murder weapon |b]

M Alkl ^ O Detectives carried out a thorough search of the building.        o

She went into the kitchen in search of (= looking for) a drink, fcfe T M1%,     0 The search fora cure

goes on. Ai\l&&mM&-W'lnfTfffeo o The search is on (= has begun) for someone to fill the post. EL         ^

A^kjSji        o Eventually the search was called

off. ® ^ S Jg        T o O a search and rescue team g

PA 2 (computing if) an act of looking for information