attempt: The company is seeking to improve its profitability. 4 [T] to move naturally towards: Water seeks its own level. | The compass pointer always seeks the north. 5 seek one's fortune/seek fame and fortune especially lit to try to find success in the world: He left home to seek his fortune. | He majored in political science before seeking fame and fortune in New York. 6 they seek him here, they seek him there quote the first words of a short poem about the Scarlet Pimpernel, a character in a book of the same name, who helped people escape from the French Revolution, and who the French government tried unsuccessfully to catch 7 seek, and ye shall find saying from the Bible people who look for something long or thoroughly enough will find it → see also HIDE-AND-SEEK, SELF-SEEKING, SOUGHT-AFTER —~er n
seem /sim/ v [L not in progressive forms] to give the idea or effect of being; be in appearance; appear: The strong wind makes the temperature seem lower than it really is. | She didn't seem convinced by the argument. | There seems (to be) every reason to believe that business will get better. | Things are not always what they seem (to be). | You must do whatever seems right to you. | It seems like years since I last saw you. | 'It seems (as if) there will be an election soon.' 'So it seems.' | [+to-v] I seem to have lost my keys. | [+(that)] It seems/(fml) It would seem that there is no way out of our difficulty.
seem·ing·ly /'si:mɪŋli/ adv 1 judging by the facts as one knows them: There is seemingly nothing we can do to stop the plan going ahead. 2 according to outward appearance, usually as opposed to what is actually the case: seemingly endless problems
seem-ing /'si:min/ adj [A] fml that seems to be so, usually as opposed to what is; APPARENT: For all his seeming calmness, he was really very nervous. | an explanation of the seeming contradictions
seem-ly /'si:mli/ adj old-fash or lit (especially of behaviour) pleasing by being suitable to an occasion or to social standards —-liness n [U]
seen /sɪn/ past participle of SEE
seep /siːp/ v [l+adv/prep] (of a liquid or gas) to make its way gradually through small openings in a material: Water had seeped into the house through cracks in the roof. | Blood seeped through the bandage.
seep·age /'si:pɪdʒ/ n [S;U] (a) gradual flow of a liquid by seeping: flooding caused by seepage from the drains
seer /sɪər/ n lit & old use someone who can see into the future and tell what will happen; PROPHET. Seers were thought of as wise men.
seer·suck·er /'sɪə,sʌkər/ [U] a light usually cotton cloth with flat bands between slightly raised bands
see·saw¹ /'siːs/ also teeter-totter AmE — n a board which is balanced in the middle and on which children sit at opposite ends, so that when one end goes up the other goes down
seesaw² v [l] to move backwards and forwards, up and down, or between opponents or opposite sides: The fight seesawed to and fro, with first one boxer and then the other being on top. | seesawing prices
seethe /siːð/ v [1] 1 [(with)] to be in a state of anger, unrest, or excited movement: The country was seething with political unrest. | a seething mass of people | I was absolutely seething, I can tell you. (=extremely angry) 2 (of a liquid) to move about wildly and roughly, as if boiling: The sea was seething around the rocks.
'see-through adj [A] (especially of a garment) that can be (partly) seen through; transparent: a see-through blouse
SEGA /'seɪɡə/ trademark a Japanese company that produces computer games and the small machines on which they are played. Some of its games involve the character SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.
segment $ ^{1} $ /'segmənt/ n 1 any of the parts into which something can be cut or divided: a dish of orange segments | The company dominates this segment of the market. → see picture at FRUIT 2 tech an area inside a circle between its edge and a CHORD (=a straight line across it) → compare SECTOR; see picture at DIAMETER 3 tech the part of a line between two points on the line
segment $ ^{2} $ /seg'ment/ v [|;T] to divide or be divided into segments
seg·men·ta·tion /,segmen'teifən, -mən-/ n [S;U] division into segments
seg·re·gate /'segrəgeit/ v [T usually pass.] to separate or set apart, especially from a different social group: Boys and girls are segregated in this school.
seg·re·gat·ed /'segrɪɡeɪtɪd/ adj for the use of only one group, especially a racial group
seg·re·ga·tion /,segrə'geɪʃən/ n [U] the separation of a social or racial group from others, especially by the laws in some US states between 1896 and 1954, which prevented African Americans from using the same schools, hotels, restaurants, seats in buses and in theatres and parks etc, as white people
The opposite of segregation is integration; however, desegregation is usually used when someone is referring to reversing (=getting rid of) a system of segregation already in place, as in the US after 1954. → compare APARTHEID; see also BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA, CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, PLESSEY V. FERGUSON
seg·ue /'segweɪ/ v [l(into, from)] to move smoothly from one song, idea, activity, condition etc to another: The conversation segued into banter about the Cup Final.—segue n
sei-gneur /seˈnjɜːr/ n (in a FEUDAL system) a nobleman or landowner; lord
Sei·ko /'seikəu/ trademark a BRAND (=type) of electronic product and watches, made by the Japanese company Seiko
seine /seɪn/ also 'seɪne net n a fishing net with weights along one edge causing it to hang straight down and enclose fish when the ends are drawn together
Seine, the a river in northern France which flows through Paris and Rouen, and flows into the English Channel near Le Havre
Sein·feld, Jerry /'sainfeld/ (1954-) a US COMEDIAN and actor known especially for his very popular humorous television programme Seinfeld (1989–98), which was about four friends living in New York City
seis·mic /'saizmɪk/ adj tech of or caused by EARTHQUAKES
'seismic 'wave n a movement in the earth, caused by an EARTHQUAKE, a very large explosion, or a very large object hitting the earth from space
seis·mo·graph /'saizməɡrəf/ -ɡræf/ n an instrument for recording and measuring the shaking of the ground in an EARTHQUAKE
seis·mol·o·gy /saɪzˈmɒlədʒiːl-ˈmɑː-/ n [U] tech the scientific study of shaking movements in the surface of the earth —gist n
seize /sɪz/ v [T] 1 to take possession of a) by official order: The weapons found in the house were seized by the police. b) by force: The army seized power in a coup. 2 to take hold of eagerly, quickly, or forcefully; GRAB: He seized my hand, shook it, and said how glad he was to see me. (fig.) If you get the opportunity to work abroad, you should seize it with both hands. 3 [often pass. (with)] (of feelings or thoughts) to attack or take control of (someone's body or mind): He was seized with sudden chest pains/with a desire for revenge. 4 seize the day to not delay in doing something, especially something enjoyable. The phrase comes from the Latin carpe diem, mentioned in a poem by HORACE.
seize on/upon sthg. phr v [T] to take and use suddenly or eagerly: She had always wanted to go to London, so she seized on the offer of a free trip.
seize up phr v [1] (of (part of) a machine) to become stuck and fail to move or work; JAM: The engine seized up. | (fig.) The snowstorm was so heavy that the city's whole transport system seized up.
seizure /'si:3ər/ n 1 [U(of)] the act of seizing: The courts ordered the seizure of all her property. 2 [C] a sudden attack of an illness: He died of a heart seizure. | (fig.) (humor) Your mother will have a seizure if you dye your hair pink!
Selassie → see HAILE SELASSIE
sel·dom /'seldəm/ adv not often; rarely: He very seldom