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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
seize
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
catch/grab/seize etc hold of sth (=start holding something quickly and firmly)
▪ She grabbed hold of the letter and tore it open.
grab/seize a chance (=quickly use an opportunity)
▪ As soon as she stopped speaking, I grabbed the chance to leave.
seize power (=take power by force)
▪ His son seized power in a military coup.
seize the initiative
▪ Politicians need to seize the initiative from the terrorists.
seize/grasp an opportunity (=do something very eagerly when you have the chance)
▪ She saw an opportunity to speak to him, and seized it.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
on
▪ He was seized on January 17, and by February 6 was in Moscow as a prisoner of war.
▪ Why should the Stephens family have seized on this as an event worthy of becoming a story?
upon
▪ Any increase in the ability to see is useful and is at once seized upon.
▪ Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday to confront him about the accusations, which he had seized upon and publicized.
▪ Old repertoires break through, as similarities between present and past are seized upon and exaggerated.
▪ The supposed one-to-one correspondence between thing and symbol was seized upon for two reasons.
▪ His theory about language codes was seized upon by those seeking to explain why working-class children under-achieved at school.
■ NOUN
arm
▪ Her flailing hand slipped down to the pack, wrenching its cords open, just as cruel fingers seized her arm.
▪ She seized his arm, turning him to see better, knowing it was a citizen bracelet.
▪ My master seized me by the arm and pulled me over.
▪ Somebody seized Marian by the arm.
asset
▪ With tight defence budgets, Trinidad is trying to change the law to make use of seized assets a priority.
▪ None the less, the plaintiffs can move immediately to seize his assets.
▪ He seized the assets of all those he held, doubtless exceeding his authority in cases of the very wealthy.
attempt
▪ A later attempt to seize a crucial bridge was also beaten back.
chance
▪ Travis had left the door open - she seized her chance, and was through it like a shot.
▪ Some people see the possibilities intended in the new words and seize the chance for change.
▪ He seized his chance and slammed into its rear wing again.
▪ I seized the chance to ask for a tow, anything to get us clear of that suicidal place.
▪ Magilton then seized his chance, collecting the rebound to score from close range.
▪ Deadwood was an opportunity he could not afford to give up, and so she seized the chance for a visit home.
▪ And now Tzanibey has seized the chance to defy you and poison it?
▪ It occurred to him that he might seize the chance to declare his own innocence.
ground
▪ There may also be an opportunity to seize the high ground, Panetta said.
▪ The company, though, is trying to seize the high ground and demonstrate that agricultural biotechnology can be used for good.
▪ Houston also seized the mental high ground for a possible playoff matchup, which could occur as early as the first round.
▪ Some corporations have seized the moral high ground.
hand
▪ Madeleine's hands seized the pillow and held it to her in a quick embrace.
▪ He puts his dry biscuit down, and with his left hand seizes his right elbow.
▪ A hand seized him by the hair and yanked his head back.
▪ The man held out his hand, which George seized and shook vigorously.
initiative
▪ Then he seized the initiative in a dramatic fashion, just as he had in April 1182.
▪ This enabled Philip to seize the initiative again.
▪ Everyone in the organization can therefore seek out and seize initiatives to improve their contribution to profit.
▪ The trap of performing types is to display their efficiency by constantly seizing the initiative.
▪ Instead of standing there helplessly until the end of the performance, seize the initiative and act quickly.
▪ Obliged to seize the initiative, he announced in 1920 his first campaign of mass non-co-operation.
▪ Fortunately the Governor seized the initiative and the same day called on Nu to take over as prime Minister.
land
▪ More often they failed and the Roberts seized their land as security.
▪ The state seized the land in 1986.
moment
▪ Maybe-and this he feared more than anything-he would be afraid to seize such a moment when it came.
▪ The moral was that we must seize our few bright moments and live deeply.
▪ Aurangzeb seized the moment and pressed forward.
▪ The only way we can actually balance the budget is if we seize this moment to work together.
▪ The conservatives are seizing the moment to push through deep reforms before the honeymoon ends.
▪ Louise saw him miss the beat, and she seized the moment, stepping forward.
▪ A brilliant coup, seizing his moment when Black's forces are scattered at the edge of the board.
officer
▪ August 20: Cannabis plants worth £2,500 seized by drugs squad officers at a house in the Waterside area of Londonderry.
▪ Read in studio Voice over Nine hundred bootleg videos of pop concerts have been seized by trading standards officers.
opportunity
▪ None the less, the opportunity has been seized with skill.
▪ There may also be an opportunity to seize the high ground, Panetta said.
▪ An important cash advantage or money making opportunity can be seized.
▪ This is just what Jody loves to see: physical, aggressive play, every opportunity seized, all pistons firing.
▪ The opportunity which he seized turned out to his own detriment.
▪ When his opportunity came to seize the party leadership, he proceeded with characteristic single-mindedness that bordered on ruthlessness.
▪ There is a great opportunity to be seized.
▪ See an opportunity, seize it.
police
▪ During raids on members' homes the police seized a large amount of weapons as well as racist and anti-immigrant literature.
▪ The police seized the money and arrested everyone.
▪ Now police have seized 3,000 forged lapel tickets in a raid on this Birmingham pub and a number of houses.
▪ Drugs raid ... police seize ecstacy tablets in run up to warehouse party.
▪ Heroin haul ... police seize drugs at illegal rave party site.
power
▪ Having seized political power, the new ruling class presides over the transformation of the social structure.
▪ He ruled Over the other Titans until his son Zeus dethroned him and seized the power for him-self.
▪ Siban's son was a prisoner under sentence of death for his conspiracy to seize power.
▪ When they then found out about their own significance in procreation they seized power entirely.
▪ If the military were to seize power under Bourbollon, the clamp down would be fierce.
▪ René seized power in a military coup in June 1977.
property
▪ The Prussian crown and several smaller principalities which seized the properties told the churches to raise money from their own members instead.
▪ Prosecutors said they were preparing to seize property and millions of dollars worth of alleged proceeds of arms dealing.
▪ They were therefore guilty of robbery when they used force seconds after seizing the property.
▪ Many cadres themselves seized the property of the condemned, or spared their own relatives.
▪ The president may not seize private property without congressional authorization. 11.
▪ She also argued that under the Fifth Amendment, the government owed her compensation for seizing property that was partly hers.
rebel
▪ The rebels seized the chance to return to Lusignan in force and begin to rebuild it.
▪ A Tutsi-led rebel group seized power in July 1994 and halted the slaughter soon afterward.
■ VERB
try
▪ Military officers have tried to seize power six times since Mrs Aquino became President three years ago.
▪ The response: No one ever tried to seize frequent flier miles.
▪ The company, though, is trying to seize the high ground and demonstrate that agricultural biotechnology can be used for good.
▪ The husband tried to seize a portrait of her, an oil painting, rip it right off the wall.
▪ He was joined in trying to seize control of Olympia&038;.
▪ The passengers who jammed the vessel were in a frenzy as they tried to seize pieces of the omelets.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
take/claim/seize the moral high ground
▪ Some corporations have seized the moral high ground.
▪ Television is therefore seen to be taking the moral high ground, the side of the punter against the forces of evil.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ "Come with me," said Nat, seizing him by the arm.
▪ Assets worth over $1 million were seized, along with documents relating to the company's financial dealings.
▪ Authorities have seized over 200 pounds of marijuana since Feb. 1.
▪ Over 52,000 E-tablets hidden in a car door were seized by customs officials.
▪ Police seized 53 weapons and made 42 arrests.
▪ Rebel soldiers attacked the island, seizing the capital and arresting government officials.
▪ Sudden alarm seized Frith.
▪ The General has been Head of State since he seized power in 1982.
▪ Three women were seized at gunpoint.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ After seizing power, the soldiers changed into civilian clothes and became presidents.
▪ All but a few would advise others to seize the chance and profit from it.
▪ I trembled and was seized by a sudden fear.
▪ Over 1,300 litres of highly alcoholic brew had been seized from one wing alone, in nine months.
▪ Over most of the twentieth century organizations worried about choosing and seizing growth opportunities through adding capacity and people.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Seize

Seize \Seize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seized; p. pr. & vb. n. Seizing.] [OE. seisen, saisen, OF. seisir, saisir, F. saisir, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. set. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See Set, v. t.]

  1. To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold of; to gripe or grasp suddenly; to reach and grasp.

    For by no means the high bank he could seize.
    --Spenser.

    Seek you to seize and gripe into your hands The royalties and rights of banished Hereford?
    --Shak.

  2. To take possession of by force.

    At last they seize The scepter, and regard not David's sons.
    --Milton.

  3. To invade suddenly; to take sudden hold of; to come upon suddenly; as, a fever seizes a patient.

    Hope and deubt alternate seize her seul.
    --Pope.

  4. (law) To take possession of by virtue of a warrant or other legal authority; as, the sheriff seized the debtor's goods.

  5. To fasten; to fix. [Obs.]

    As when a bear hath seized her cruel claws Upon the carcass of some beast too weak.
    --Spenser.

  6. To grap with the mind; to comprehend fully and distinctly; as, to seize an idea.

  7. (Naut.) To bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff, as yarn or marline; as, to seize ropes.

    Note: This word, by writers on law, is commonly written seise, in the phrase to be seised of (an estate), as also, in composition, disseise, disseisin.

    To be seized of, to have possession, or right of possession; as, A B was seized and possessed of the manor of Dale. ``Whom age might see seized of what youth made prize.''
    --Chapman.

    To seize on or To seize upon, to fall on and grasp; to take hold on; to take possession of suddenly and forcibly.

    Syn: To catch; grasp; clutch; snatch; apprehend; arrest; take; capture.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
seize

mid-13c., from Old French seisir "to take possession of, take by force; put in possession of, bestow upon" (Modern French saisir), from Late Latin sacire, which is generally held to be from a Germanic source, but the exact origin is uncertain. Perhaps from Frankish *sakjan "lay claim to" (compare Gothic sokjan, Old English secan "to seek;" see seek). Or perhaps from Proto-Germanic *satjan "to place" (see set (v.)).\n

\nOriginally a legal term in reference to feudal property holdings or offices. Meaning "to grip with the hands or teeth" is from c.1300; that of "to take possession by force or capture" (of a city, etc.) is from mid-14c. Figurative use, with reference to death, disease, fear, etc. is from late 14c. Meaning "to grasp with the mind" is attested from 1855. Of engines or other mechanisms, attested from 1878. Related: Seized; seizing.

Wiktionary
seize

vb. 1 (context transitive English) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture. 2 (context transitive English) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance). 3 (context transitive English) To take possession of (by force, law etc.). 4 (context transitive English) To have a sudden and powerful effect upon. 5 (context transitive nautical English) To bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line. 6 (context transitive obsolete English) To fasten, fix. 7 (context intransitive English) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ (m en on) or (m en upon)). 8 (context intransitive English) To have a seizure. 9 (context intransitive English) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also '''seize up'''. 10 (context UK intransitive English) To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.

WordNet
seize
  1. v. take hold of; grab; "The salesclerk quickly seized the money on the counter"; "She clutched her purse"; "The mother seized her child by the arm"; "Birds of prey often seize small mammals" [syn: prehend, clutch]

  2. take or capture by force; "The terrorists seized the politicians"; "The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages"

  3. take possession of by force, as after an invasion; "the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"; "The army seized the town"; "The militia captured the castle" [syn: appropriate, capture, conquer]

  4. take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority; "The FBI seized the drugs"; "The customs agents impounded the illegal shipment"; "The police confiscated the stolen artwork" [syn: impound, attach, sequester, confiscate]

  5. seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession; "He assumed to himself the right to fill all positions in the town"; "he usurped my rights"; "She seized control of the throne after her husband died" [syn: assume, usurp, take over, arrogate]

  6. hook by a pull on the line; "strike a fish"

  7. affect; "Fear seized the prisoners"; "The patient was seized with unberable pains"; "He was seized with a dreadful disease" [syn: clutch, get hold of]

  8. capture the attention or imagination of; "This story will grab you"; "The movie seized my imagination" [syn: grab]

Wikipedia
Seize (band)

Seize are a British electronic band.

Seize

Seize may refer to:

  • Seisin, legal possession
  • Seizing, a class of knots used to semi-permanently bind together two ropes
  • Seize (band), a British electronic band
  • The jamming of machine parts against each other, usually due to insufficient lubrication

Usage examples of "seize".

Achmed rode to the entranceway and seized the banner, affixing it to hi own riding staff.

At this time also I felt some weakness to seize upon my outward man, which made still the other affliction the more heavy and uncomfortable to me.

Halder addressed at once to Camilla, such unceremonious praise of her beauty, that, affrighted and offended, she hastily seized the arm of Mrs.

This was no less than to lay an ambuscade for the Inca and seize him in the face of his army, holding him as a hostage for the safety of the Christians.

He seized a fragment of nopal-stuff in his hand, in the hand of his analogue, whirled it up, beat at the sucker, at the fibril.

Perforce Crockett seized the pick and began to chop anthracite out of the wall.

Their light and perfidious ambition was eager to seize or anticipate the moment of a vacancy, while a law of succession, the guardian both of the prince and people, was gradually defined and confirmed in the hereditary monarchies of Europe.

They all stared after it silently, seized by a sense of anticlimax, until Sean broke the spell.

The principle, applicable to both federal and State courts, that the Court first assuming jurisdiction over property may maintain and exercise that jurisdiction to the exclusion of the other, was held not to be confined to cases where the property has actually been seized under judicial process, but applies as well to suits brought for marshalling assets, administering trusts, or liquidating estates and to suits of a similar nature, where to give effect to its jurisdiction the Court must control the property.

The only instance in which Julian seemed to depart from his accustomed clemency, was the execution of a rash youth, who, with a feeble hand, had aspired to seize the reins of empire.

Accordingly he seized the pen with great confidence, and a whole magazine of antihysteric medicines were, in different forms, externally and internally applied.

Caesar the two Gauls, now swung away until it hovered approvingly before Cato and Bibulus, who were quick to seize the advantage.

Imagination seized on distortions and ran rampant, until quivering flesh balked at mapping the scope of an ordeal driven amok.

The wall had sprouted an enormous pair of arms, and Barnacle found himself seized in a grip there was no escaping.

Lockhart mansion would be empty and he could seize that wretched beastie in a matter of days!