/siːz/
OriginEarlier seise, from Middle English seisen, sesen, saisen, from Old French seisir (“to take possession of; invest (person, court)”), from Early Medieval Latin sacīre (“to lay claim to, appropriate”) (8th century) in the phrase ad propriam sacire, from Old Low Frankish *sakjan (“to sue, bring legal action”), from Proto-Germanic *sakjaną, *sakōną (compare Old English sacian (“to strive, brawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *sakaną (compare Old Saxon sakan (“to accuse”), Old High German sahhan (“to bicker, quarrel, rebuke”), Old English sacan (“to quarrel, claim by law, accuse”). Cognate to sake and Latin sāgiō (“to perceive acutely”).
- transitiveTo deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.
- transitiveTo take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).
- transitiveTo take possession of (by force, law etc.).
“to seize smuggled goods”
“to seize a ship after libeling”
- transitiveTo have a sudden and powerful effect upon.
“a panic seized the crowd”
“a fever seized him”
“This sensation of an object becoming alive is a characteristic that, I believe, seizes all viewers of a van Gogh. The Bible goes beyond being a simple still-life object to become a living thing, an ex”
- transitiveTo bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line.
“to seize two fish-hooks back to back”
“to seize or stop one rope on to another”
- obsolete, transitiveTo fasten, fix.
- intransitiveTo lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).
“to seize on the neck of a horse”
“The text which had seized upon his heart with such comfort and strength abode upon him for more than a year.”
- intransitiveTo have a seizure.
“Nearing what she thought was a climax, he started seizing and fell off her. Later, realizing he was dead, she became alarmed and dragged the body to his vehicle to make it look like he had died in his”
- intransitiveTo bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.
“Rust caused the engine to seize, never to run again.”
- UK, intransitiveTo submit for consideration to a deliberative body.
- (with of) To cause (an action or matter) to be or remain before (a certain judge or court).
“This Court will remain seized of this matter.”
- ambitransitiveOf chocolate: to change suddenly from a fluid to an undesirably hard and gritty texture.
“Chocolate seizes if a small amount of water (or watery liquid such as brandy) finds its way into the chocolate while it is melting. […] If chocolate seizes, it will look grainy and matte rather than g”
Formsseizes(present, singular, third-person) · seizing(participle, present) · seized(participle, past) · seized(past)