SEIZE ON • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Seize on

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/siz ɑn/ Listen

verb

Seize v. t. (past & past part. seized; pres. part. seizing)

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

2.

To take possession of by force. "At last they seize The scepter, and regard not David's sons."

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."

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."

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."

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

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

See images of 'Seize on'

Etymology of 'Seize on'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Seize on" Quotes from Famous Books

... everywhere seeking "new markets." Bengal having been in a great degree exhausted, it became necessary to annex the North-west provinces, and thence we find her stretching out her hand at one moment to seize on Affghanistan, at another to force the Chinese into permitting her to smuggle opium, and at a third to expel the Sikhs and occupy the Punjab, as preliminary to this invasion and subjection of the Burman Empire. ...

— The trade, domestic and foreign • Henry Charles Carey

... gone to thy boat,—falsehearted lad; snakes will rear their heads out of the water, and seize on him that honoureth not his parents ...

— Walladmor: - And Now Freely Translated from the German into English. - In Two Volumes. Vol. I. • Thomas De Quincey

... which had increased in force with the increasing power of the sun, would flag and finally die away. The heat and electric tension of the atmosphere would then become almost insupportable. Languor and uneasiness would seize on every one, even the denizens of the forest, betraying it by their motions. White clouds would appear in the cast and gather into cumuli, with an increasing blackness along their lower portions. The ...

— The Naturalist on the River Amazons • Henry Walter Bates

... the ship; but all differences of opinion were soon settled when she appeared abeam, fully as far off as the former one. As our hopes had risen to a high pitch, so they now fell proportionately low. I began to fear that despondency would seize on all hands. The ship came up on our quarter; then she got abeam of us. We could see her as clearly as we had seen the former one. Some of our people shouted and waved their hats and caps. No answering signal was made. ...

— Will Weatherhelm - The Yarn of an Old Sailor • W.H.G. Kingston

... germ of a new opinion began to, display itself in the south, and Bordeaux felt its full influence. The department of the Gironde had given birth to a new political party in the twelve citizens who formed its deputies. This department, far removed from the centre, was at no distant period to seize on the empire alike of opinion and of eloquence. The names (obscure and unknown up to this period) of Ducos, Gaudet, Lafondladebat, Grangeneuve, Gensonne, Vergniaud, were about to rise into notice and renown ...

— The World's Greatest Books, Vol XII. - Modern History • Arthur Mee

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