Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to break the seal

to break the seal

8 5.1
Open a closed container or use it for the first time
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : romper el sello
  • He was excited to break the seal on the freshly delivered game console.
  • break the seal on a bottle

Well, as soon as he unlocked and and broke the seal, it would automatically close on its own.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • She broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • You have to take your brush into it and actually break the seal and work it in.

  • Then I broke the seal and had a drink, and by the time we were back in New York, the bottle was empty.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Start at the top, break the seal, and unwrap.

    20 Years After (2008)

  • OK, so Tess said that we should break the seal on this so we can put a straw in there.

  • Jack broke the seal on a bottle of whiskey, took a long, hot swallow, exhaled forcefully, and said, "That's one of the two things I need right now," capped it, and tossed it to Ennis.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Curious to see what was inside, she decided to break the seal on the box.

  • Before using the new paint, you need to break the seal by removing the lid.

Synonyms

to unseal
vsto break the seal
20 4.3

To open something by breaking or removing a seal

is used when something is accessed for the very first time rather than any method
to crack open
vsto break the seal
15 2.6

Open something like a bottle or box to get what is inside

is about first-time use rather than the force used to split containers
to break open
vsto break the seal
13 2.1

To open something suddenly by force, for example a locked door or jar

is used when accessing something for the first time rather than violent force
to unlatch
vsto break the seal
7 3.2

Open something by lifting or releasing a small catch that holds it closed

is about first-time access rather than simply undoing a catch or fastener

Antonyms

to seal off
3 3.7

Close something tightly so nothing can get in or out

How Sealed

to seal off
3 3.7
to seal
457 2.5
to break the seal
8 5.1
to unseal
20 4.3

Surface Forms

break the seal infinitive
breaking the seal present participle
breaks the seal third person singular
broke the seal past
broken the seal past participle

Morphology

break + the + seal

The meaning 'to open something that has been sealed' is directly and compositionally derived from 'break' (to open or force apart) + 'seal' (a closure), so the physical sense is predictable from the parts. The extended sense 'use for the first time' is a natural metonymic extension of opening, and similar phrasing exists cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner knowing the words would likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Break the seal comes from the simple image of a closed jar or bottle. You must literally break the wax or sticker that is the seal to get inside, so the phrase came to mean 'to open something that has been sealed' or 'to use something for the first time'.