fur seal

noun

: any of various eared seals that have a double coat with a dense soft underfur and were hunted especially formerly for their desirable pelts:

a

: a large seal (Callorhinus ursinus) of the northern Pacific Ocean having its main breeding rookery on Pribilof Island in the Bering Sea

called also northern fur seal

b

: any of a genus (Arctocephalus) of seals chiefly of the southern hemisphere

called also southern fur seal

Illustration of fur seal

Examples of fur seal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And Cape fur seals, the sharks’ main prey at Seal Island, seemed to respond quickly. —Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

During the colder months, many would patrol the waters around Seal Island, where tens of thousands of Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus) clustered. —Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025

In fifty years, more than a million fur seals were hunted. —Sebastian Modak, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 June 2023

Adults are also hunted by caracals, leopards, mongooses, fur seals and sharks. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fur seal

• abele
• alkyl
• anneal
• appeal
• cartwheel
• conceal
• congeal
• coquille
• corneal
• cornmeal
• flywheel
• foveal

Kids Definition

fur seal

noun

: any of various eared seals with a dense soft undercoat