seize
seez
- v take hold of; grab
The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter
The mother seized her child by the arm
Birds of prey often seize small mammals - v take or capture by force
The terrorists seized the politicians
The rebels threaten to seize civilian hostages - v take possession of by force, as after an invasion
the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants
The army seized the town - v take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority
The FBI seized the drugs - v seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession
She seized control of the throne after her husband died - v hook by a pull on the line
- v affect
Fear seized the prisoners
The patient was seized with unbearable pains
He was seized with a dreadful disease - v capture the attention or imagination of
The movie seized my imagination
- The timing chains broke, the aluminum heads warped like mad, the main bearings would seize and the water pump would poop the bed ka-POW! Oh, that piston through the bonnet, that .
- When police tried to seize an African at the gate to the compound, there was a scuffle and the crowd advanced toward the fence.
- The Chechens who dared seize a theater in Russia's capital are put down, but their cause is on center stage.