seal off

verb

sealed off; sealing off; seals off

transitive verb

: to close tightly

Examples of seal off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Intense fighting in the area means the hospital has been effectively sealed off that month. Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024 On Thursday in Hualien city, the area around the Uranus Building was sealed off, while construction workers tried to prevent the leaning structure from toppling completely. Siyi Zhao Lam Yik Fei, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024 Farmers threw beets, sprayed manure at police and set hay alight on Tuesday as hundreds of tractors again sealed off streets close to the European Union headquarters, where agriculture ministers sought to ease a crisis that has led to months of protests across the 27-member bloc. Raf Casert, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024 There, operable windows replace the old curtain wall that sealed off employees from the temptations of the outside world. Curbed, 24 Jan. 2024 This performance is not surprising given the on-ear design, which does not encircle and seal off your ears. PCMAG, 17 Mar. 2024 The leak has doubled in size in the past few weeks and the area has been sealed off, according to NASA program manager Joel Montalbano, who emphasized that there is no impact on station operations or crew safety. Landon Mion, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2024 This damage leads to the formation of a clot, which seals off the area and prevents any further fluid leakage or bleeding. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Press advocates have warned that these frequent closures have seemingly sealed off more testimony than was necessary to protect Google trade secrets. Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 26 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seal off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of seal off was in 1931

Dictionary Entries Near seal off

Cite this Entry

“Seal off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seal%20off. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

seal off

verb
: to close tightly
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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