Seizing

How to spell seizing

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce seizing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does seizing mean?

1. verbTaking hold of something suddenly and forcefully, or taking advantage of an opportunity.
2. verbTaking possession of property or assets by legal authority or force.
3. verbOf a machine or engine, becoming stuck or jammed through overheating or lack of lubrication.

Seizing in a sentence

• Seizing the rope with both hands, he pulled himself back onto the boat.

• Customs officers are seizing the counterfeit goods at the warehouse.

• Without enough oil the engine kept seizing up on long journeys.

• She built her career by seizing every chance to learn a new skill.

• The court issued an order seizing the company's bank accounts.

• The mechanic warned that the worn bearing was close to seizing completely.

Where does seizing come from?

Language of origin: French

This word descends from the verb seize, which English borrowed in the 1200s from Old French seisir or saisir, meaning 'to take possession of' or 'to put someone in legal possession of property'. The Old French term came from Medieval Latin sacire, 'to lay claim to', a word that almost certainly had earlier Germanic roots tied to the idea of setting or placing. In its earliest English life it was a legal word about taking lawful possession of land, a sense still preserved in 'seizin', the formal term for holding an estate. Over time the meaning broadened from formal legal taking to any sudden, forceful grabbing, whether of an object, an opportunity, or even the way a stiff machine 'seizes up'. The spelling is the famous exception to the 'i before e except after c' rule: seize and its forms keep the e before the i, which is precisely why writers stumble when adding the -ing.

How the word is built

• seiz- (from seize: to grasp or take hold of)
• -ing (present participle suffix)