Dictionary definition · seize
verb
- take into your hands deliberately"The sales clerk quickly seized the money on the counter"
- take or capture by force"The terrorists seized the politicians"
- take possession of by force, as after an invasion"the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"
- take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority"The FBI seized the drugs"
- 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"
- hook by a pull on the line"strike a fish"
- affect"Fear seized the prisoners"
- capture the attention or imagination of"This story will grab you"
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).