2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] The seating at a public place or a formal occasion is the arrangement of where people will sit. □ She checked the seating arrangements before the guests filed into the dining-room.
sea t of lea rn|ing (seats of learning ) N‑COUNT People sometimes refer to a university or a similar institution as a seat of learning . [WRITTEN ] □ …one department of that great seat of learning.
sea tur|tle (sea turtles ) N‑COUNT A sea turtle is a large reptile which has a thick shell covering its body and which lives in the sea most of the time. [AM ] in BRIT, use turtle
sea ur|chin (sea urchins ) N‑COUNT A sea urchin is a small round sea creature that has a hard shell covered with sharp points.
sea wall (sea walls ) N‑COUNT A sea wall is a wall built along the edge of the sea to stop the sea flowing over the land or destroying it. □ Cherbourg had a splendid harbour enclosed by a long sea wall.
sea|ward /siː wə r d/ The form seawards can also be used for meaning 1 . 1 ADV [ADV after v] Something that moves or faces seaward or seawards moves or faces in the direction of the sea or further out to sea. □ A barge was about a hundred yards away, waiting to return seaward. □ It faced seawards to the north.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] The seaward side of something faces in the direction of the sea or further out to sea. □ The houses on the seaward side of the road were all in ruins.
sea wa|ter also seawater N‑UNCOUNT Sea water is salt water from the sea.
sea|weed /siː wiːd/ (seaweeds ) N‑VAR Seaweed is a plant that grows in the sea. There are many kinds of seaweed. □ …seaweed washed up on a beach.
sea|worthy /siː wɜː r ði/ ADJ A ship or boat which is seaworthy is fit to travel at sea. □ The ship was completely seaworthy. ● sea|worthiness N‑UNCOUNT □ It didn't reach required standards of safety and seaworthiness.
se|bum /siː bəm/ N‑UNCOUNT Sebum is an oily substance produced by glands in your skin.
sec /se k/ (secs ) N‑COUNT If you ask someone to wait a sec , you are asking them to wait for a very short time. [INFORMAL ] □ Can you just hang on a sec? □ Be with you in a sec.
sec. /se k/ (secs ) Sec. is a written abbreviation for second or seconds . □ Grete Waitz finished with a time of 2 hrs, 29 min., 30 sec.
seca|teurs /se kətɜː r z/ N‑PLURAL [oft a pair of N ] Secateurs are a gardening tool that look like a pair of strong, heavy scissors. Secateurs are used for cutting the stems of plants. [BRIT ] in AM, use pruning shears
se|cede /s I siː d/ (secedes , seceding , seceded ) VERB If a region or group secedes from the country or larger group to which it belongs, it formally becomes a separate country or stops being a member of the larger group. □ [V + from ] Sectors of the Basque and Catalan populations would like to secede from Spain. □ [V ] On 20 August 1960 Senegal seceded.
se|ces|sion /s I se ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT The secession of a region or group from the country or larger group to which it belongs is the action of formally becoming separate. □ [+ from ] Quebecers voted against secession from Canada.
se|ces|sion|ist /s I se ʃən I st/ (secessionists ) N‑COUNT [usu pl, N n] Secessionists are people who want their region or group to become separate from the country or larger group to which it belongs. □ …Lithuanian secessionists.
se|clud|ed /s I kluː d I d/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A secluded place is quiet and private. □ We were tucked away in a secluded corner of the room. □ We found a secluded beach a few miles further on.
se|clu|sion /s I kluː ʒ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT If you are living in seclusion , you are in a quiet place away from other people. □ She lived in seclusion with her husband on their farm in Panama. □ [+ of ] They love the seclusion of their garden.
second
➊ PART OF A MINUTE
➋ COMING AFTER SOMETHING ELSE
➌ SENDING SOMEONE TO DO A JOB
➊ sec|ond ◆◆◆ /se kənd/ (seconds ) N‑COUNT A second is one of the sixty parts that a minute is divided into. People often say ' a second ' or ' seconds ' when they simply mean a very short time. □ For a few seconds nobody said anything. □ It only takes forty seconds. □ Her orbital speed must be a few hundred meters per second. □ Within seconds the other soldiers began firing too.
➋ sec|ond ◆◆◆ /se kənd/ (seconds , seconding , seconded )
→ Please look at categories 14 and 15 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1 ORD The second item in a series is the one that you count as number two. □ …the second day of his visit to Delhi. □ …their second child. □ My son just got married for the second time. □ She was the second of nine children. □ …King Charles the Second. □ Britain came second in the Prix St Georges Derby.
2 ORD Second is used before superlative adjectives to indicate that there is only one thing better or larger than the thing you are referring to. □ The party is still the second strongest in Italy. □ …the second-largest city in the United States.
3 ADV You say second when you want to make a second point or give a second reason for something. □ The soil is depleted first by crops grown in it and second by bacterial action.