Words / B2

SEEZ/siːz/

To seize is to take hold suddenly, or to take control or property by force or law: seize phones; seize power. Grab is informal; confiscate is official taking. Police seized the phones. Mix-up: cease means stop (already elsewhere); size is how big. Do not write seize for “stop doing”.

Meaning

To take hold of suddenly, or to take control or property by force or law.

Examples

• “Police seized the phones before the mock, the behaviour log said.”
• “Rebels seized the radio station, which is the take-control sense.”

Good to know

seize + object; seize power / control. Informal: grab. Trap: cease / size. News, law, and history. Take suddenly, not “stop”.

Near in meaning

confiscate

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