Jump To:

• carpe diem
  carpe diem

  seize the day; enjoy the present, as opposed to placing all hope in the future.
• Carpe diem
  Carpe diem

  Latin for “Seize the day”: take full advantage of present opportunities. This sentiment is found not only in classical literature but in much of English literature as well (see “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may” and “Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, Lady, were no crime.”)

carpe diem

American  

[kahr-pe dee-em, kahr-pee dahy-uhm, kahr-pey dee-uhm] / ˈkɑr pɛ ˈdi ɛm, ˈkɑr pi ˈdaɪ əm, ˈkɑr peɪ ˈdi əm /

1. Latin. seize the day; enjoy the present, as opposed to placing all hope in the future.

---

carpe diem British  

/ ˈkɑːpɪ ˈdiːɛm /

1. enjoy the pleasures of the moment, without concern for the future

---

Carpe diem Cultural  

1. Latin for “Seize the day”: take full advantage of present opportunities. This sentiment is found not only in classical literature but in much of English literature as well (see “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may” and “Had we but world enough, and time, / This coyness, Lady, were no crime.”)

---

carpe diem Idioms  

1. Enjoy the present and don't worry about the future, as in It's a beautiful day, so forget tomorrow's test—carpe diem! Latin for “seize the day,” an aphorism found in the Roman writer Horace's Odes, this phrase has been used in English since the early 1800s.

---

Usage

What does carpe diem mean? Carpe diem is a Latin phrase meaning "seize the day." The saying is used to encourage someone to make the most of the present rather than dwelling on the future.

Etymology

Origin of carpe diem

First recorded in 1815–20; literally, “pluck (the fruit of) the day,” from Horace's Odes (1.9)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carpe diem Carpe diem

“It was carpe diem, seize the day,” said Josh in an interview earlier this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The girl’s name comes from carpe diem, as in Kenna’s vow to seize the child she never got to hold, but the script has the restraint not to make a big standing-on-a-desk speech about that.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026

Like a variation on the local notion, “the mountain’s out,” the brand embodies a carpe diem attitude.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2023

“It’s about that — live now, carpe diem, the age old saying,” Ms. Cook said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2022

She is quite unprincipled; her philosophy is carpe diem for herself and laissez faire for others.

From This Side of Paradise by F. Scott (Francis Scott) Fitzgerald

It’s a message we can all carry into our week: Carpe diem.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2019

Carpe diem — Byron and the Shelleys surely would have concurred — for how many summers do we have?

From New York Times ● May 27, 2011

Carpe diem — Latin for "seize the day" and on her left arm — seems easy enough.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2010

At one time, not very long before the moment of attack, I felt to its intensest depth the truth of the proverb, "Carpe diem."

From Attack An Infantry Subaltern's Impression of July 1st, 1916 by John Masefield

His motto was "Carpe diem," and he carefully contrived to live down to it.

From Edgar Saltus: The Man by Marie Saltus