What it means
بست کردن (bast kardan) means to seal something shut, to lock up a place, or to bind the terms of an agreement so that it becomes final. It is a native Persian compound verb: بست (bast) is the past stem of the verb بستن (bastan, to close or bind), and کردن (kardan) is the light verb meaning to do or to make. This is a genuinely Persian formation with no Arabic borrowing involved. In office and bureaucratic contexts, the phrase often refers to stamping or sealing an official envelope, finalising the terms of a contract, or closing off access to a space. A close synonym in formal writing is مهر و موم کردن (mohr o mom kardan), which specifically means to seal with wax or an official stamp.
How to use it
- پاکت نامه را بست کن و برای امضا ببر. (pâkat-e nâme râ bast kon o barâye emzâ bebar.) “Seal the envelope and take it for signing.”
- قرارداد را بستند و یک نسخه برای هر طرف نگه داشتند. (qarârdâd râ bastand o yek noskhe barâye har taraf negah dâshtand.) “They sealed the contract and kept one copy for each party.”
- دفتر را تا اطلاع ثانوی بست کردند. (daftar râ tâ ettelâ-e sânavi bast kardand.) “The office was locked up until further notice.”
- توافق را در جلسه بست کردیم. (tavâfoq râ dar jalase bast kardim.) “We sealed the agreement in the meeting.”
Cultural note
Physically sealing a document with an ink stamp (مهر, mohr) remains a central act in Iranian administrative culture. A document without the official stamp of an organization is rarely treated as binding, so the act of بست کردن, whether sealing an envelope or finalizing an agreement with a stamp, carries genuine legal and social weight. In historical usage, بست also referred to the practice of sanctuary, where a person would take refuge in a sacred space to claim protection, though that meaning has faded from modern administrative speech.