hermetically seal
Make entirely airtight
To hermetically seal something is to close it so completely that no air or gas can enter or escape.
The term comes from Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary figure associated with alchemy, whose followers supposedly possessed the secret of making airtight vessels.
Today it applies to vacuum-sealed containers, laboratory equipment, or anything requiring complete isolation from outside air: The samples were hermetically sealed to prevent contamination.
Figuratively, something hermetically sealed is completely cut off from outside influence: He lived in a hermetically sealed world of privilege.
- corkTree bark bottle seal
- leakproofImpervious to seepage
- airproofImpermeable to gases
- airtightImpervious to atmosphere
- impermeabilityResistance to passage
intact · food preservation · food storage · isolation · capsule · epoxy · unbreachable · containment · lock away · secrecy · closure · gasket · weld · O-ring · secure · silicone · alchemical · laboratory equipment
hermetically sealopen
Not closed
unseal · crack open · expose · break the seal · puncture
hermetic, hermetically, seal, sealed, sealing, sealer, sealant, Hermes