sealed

Sealed is the past participle of seal and is used as an adjective to describe something that has been closed off, tightened, or protected so that passage, leakage, or tampering is prevented. It can also function as part of a passive verb form derived from the verb seal.

In packaging and storage, a sealed container or package is designed to be hermetically sealed to prevent exchange of air, moisture, or contaminants. Common methods include heat sealing, adhesive sealing, and gasket-based closures. The concept is important in fields such as food safety, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace, where maintaining a controlled internal environment is essential.

In procurement and auctions, a sealed bid or sealed tender refers to a bid submitted in a sealed envelope to keep its contents confidential until the official opening. This practice aims to ensure fairness in competitive bidding by preventing disclosure of competitors’ offers before decisions are made.

In legal and governance contexts, documents, records, or testimony may be sealed, restricting public access to protect privacy, national security, or ongoing investigations. Sealing in this sense serves to balance transparency with other legal and protective interests.

Historically, sealing wax and signets were used to authenticate documents and convey authority. The practice of sealing remains a metaphor for securing integrity and confidentiality in modern technology and administration as well as in everyday packaging and containment.