seals

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of seal.

   A colony of seals gathered along the icy coastline.

   The tamper-evident seals on the container were intact when it arrived.

   Note

   One spelling covers two very different plurals: the animals gathered on a shore, and the stamps, wax impressions and tamper-evident strips that secure a document or container. Nothing in the form tells them apart, so the surrounding words do the work. A colony of seals is alive, while seals that are affixed, broken or intact are closures. The emblems of an office or organization belong with the second group.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of seal.

   The worker seals the envelope before dropping it in the mail.

   A thick gasket seals the hatch against any leaks.

   Note

   The present-tense verb holds one surprise. Besides stamping, fastening and closing things against leaks, it can mean hunting the animals, and in that use it takes no object. A crew that seals the border blocks crossings, while a crew that seals each spring goes out after pinnipeds. Every other use needs something sealed: the envelope, the hatch, the document. The same spelling also serves as the noun plural.

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