Adjacent Words

Seize definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEIZE, v.t.
1. To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold on; or to gripe or grasp suddenly. The tiger rushes from the thicket and seizes his prey. A dog seizes an animal by the throat. The hawk seizes a chicken with his claws. The officer seizes a theif.
2. To take possession by force, with or without right.
At last they seize The scepter, and regard not David's son. Milton.
3. To invade suddenly; to take hold of; to come upon suddenly; as, a fever seizes a patient
And hope and doubt alternate seize her soul. Pope.
4. To take possession by virtue of a warrant or legal authority. The sherif seized the debtor's goods; the whole estate was seized and cofiscated. We say, to arrest a person, to seize goods.
5. To fasten; to fix. In seaman's language, to fasten two ropes or different parts oof one rope together with a cord.
To be seized of, to have possession; as a griffin seized of his prey. A B was seized and possessed of the manor of Dale.
To seize on or upon, is to fall on and grasp; to take hold on; to take possession.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: take hold of; grab; "The sales clerk 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: seize, 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, seize, 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, seize]
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, seize, 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 unbearable pains"; "He was seized with a dreadful disease" [syn: seize, clutch, get hold of]
8: capture the attention or imagination of; "This story will grab you"; "The movie seized my imagination" [syn: grab, seize]

Merriam Webster's

verb (seized; seizing) Etymology: Middle English saisen, from Anglo-French seisir, from Medieval Latin sacire, of Germanic origin; perhaps akin to Old High German sezzen to set — more at set Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. (usually seise) to vest ownership of a freehold estate in b. (often seise) to put in possession of something <the biographer will be seized of all pertinent papers> 2. a. to take possession of ; confiscate b. to take possession of by legal process 3. a. to possess or take by force ; capture b. to take prisoner ; arrest 4. a. to take hold of ; clutch b. to possess oneself of ; grasp c. to understand fully and distinctly ; apprehend 5. a. to attack or overwhelm physically ; afflict <suddenly seized with an acute illness — H. G. Armstrong> b. to possess (as one's mind) completely or overwhelmingly <seized the popular imagination — Basil Davenport> 6. to bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff (as yarn, marline, or fine wire) intransitive verb 1. to take or lay hold suddenly or forcibly 2. a. to cohere to a relatively moving part through excessive pressure, temperature, or friction — used especially of machine parts (as bearings, brakes, or pistons) b. to fail to operate due to the seizing of a part — used of an engine Synonyms: see take • seizer noun

U.S. Military Dictionary

To employ combat forces to occupy physically and to control a designated area. (JP 3-18)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. take hold of forcibly or suddenly. 2 tr. take possession of forcibly (seized the fortress; seized power). 3 tr. take possession of (contraband goods, documents, etc.) by warrant or legal right, confiscate, impound. 4 tr. affect suddenly (panic seized us; was seized by apoplexy; was seized with remorse). 5 tr. take advantage of (an opportunity). 6 tr. comprehend quickly or clearly. 7 intr. (usu. foll. by on, upon) a take hold forcibly or suddenly. b take advantage eagerly (seized on a pretext). 8 intr. (usu. foll. by up) (of a moving part in a machine) become stuck or jammed from undue heat, friction, etc. 9 tr. (also seise) (usu. foll. by of) Law put in possession of. 10 tr. Naut. fasten or attach by binding with turns of yarn etc. Phrases and idioms: seized (or seised) of 1 possessing legally. 2 aware or informed of. Derivatives: seizable adj. seizer n. Etymology: ME f. OF seizir, saisir give seisin f. Frank. f. L sacire f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(seizes, seizing, seized) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you seize something, you take hold of it quickly, firmly, and forcefully. 'Leigh,' he said seizing my arm to hold me back. ...an otter seizing a fish. VERB: V n, V n 2. When a group of people seize a place or seize control of it, they take control of it quickly and suddenly, using force. Troops have seized the airport and railroad terminals... Army officers plotted a failed attempt yesterday to seize power. = take VERB: V n, V n 3. If a government or other authority seize someone's property, they take it from them, often by force. Police were reported to have seized all copies of this morning's edition of the newspaper... VERB: V n 4. When someone is seized, they are arrested or captured. UN officials say two military observers were seized by the Khmer Rouge yesterday... Men carrying sub-machine guns seized the five soldiers and drove them away. VERB: be V-ed, V n 5. When you seize an opportunity, you take advantage of it and do something that you want to do. During the riots hundreds of people seized the opportunity to steal property... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Gripe, grasp, snatch, clutch, catch, capture, grapple, lay hold on, lay hold of, fasten upon, lay hands on, take hold of (forcibly and suddenly). 2. Come upon suddenly (as attacks of disease), attack, take hold of. 3. Fasten, fix. 4. Comprehend, apprehend. 5. Take, capture, arrest, apprehend.

Moby Thesaurus

abduct, absorb, accroach, adopt, afflict, annex, appreciate, apprehend, appropriate, arrest, arrogate, assimilate, assume, assume command, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be with one, beset, bind, bust, capture, carry, carry off, catch, catch at, catch on, clutch, cognize, collar, commandeer, comprehend, conceive, conceptualize, confiscate, dig, digest, discern, encroach, expropriate, fasten, fasten upon, fathom, follow, get, get hold of, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, grab, grapple, grasp, grip, have, have information about, have it taped, have knowledge of, hold, impound, infringe, invade, jam, jump, jump at, ken, kidnap, know, latch, learn, lock up, make an arrest, make out, master, mount the throne, nab, nail, net, nick, occupy, perceive, pick up, pinch, play God, possess, pounce upon, preempt, prehend, pretend to, put under arrest, read, realize, recognize, round up, savvy, scramble for, secure, see, seize on, seize power, seize the meaning, seize the throne, sense, sequester, shanghai, snap at, snatch, snatch at, spring upon, stick, stop, subject, swoop down upon, take, take advantage of, take away, take captive, take charge, take command, take hold of, take in, take into custody, take over, take possession of, take prisoner, take the helm, take the lead, throttle, transfix, trespass, understand, usurp, visit, wot, wot of