seal off

verb

To physically isolate an area or building for security reasons preventing passage of humans or vehicles.

“Police sealed off the building following an anonymous bomb warning.”

Similar
sealblockade
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Meanings

verbseal off (third-person singular simple present seals off, present participle sealing off, simple past and past participle sealed off)

present singular third person seals off · participle present sealing off · participle past sealed off · past sealed off

  1. transitiveTo physically isolate an area or building for security reasons preventing passage of humans or vehicles.

    Police sealed off the building following an anonymous bomb warning.

    1 more example

    More dangerous still are the 20 tonnes of melted fuel inside a reactor that caught fire in 1957 and has been sealed off and left alone ever since.

    December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

verbmake tight; secure against leakage

Similar
seal
Broader
closeshut

verbimpose a blockade on

Similar
blockade
Broader
besiegebeleaguersurround
Also see
blockadeseal

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

seal off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seal%20off

MLA

“seal off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seal%20off. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “seal off,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seal%20off.

Source: seal off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.