seize on
Idioms-
Also, seize upon.
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Grab or take hold of suddenly, as in He seized on the bell rope and started to pull vigorously , or She seized upon every opportunity to present her side of the story . [Late 1600s]
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Resort to some action, especially out of dire necessity, as in He seized upon any excuse, no matter how farfetched .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yeah, they were very close for a while, but Epstein’s defining human trait was an ability to seize on his connections and leverage them for as much currency as he could.
From Slate ● Feb. 4, 2026
Even before adding Echo Lake to its portfolio of 25 other acquisitions, Cal-Maine was starting to seize on the public’s increasing appetite for “specialty eggs.”
From Barron's ● Dec. 11, 2025
But they might also seize on this scandal to take the fraud argument much further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
With responsibility comes scrutiny, and you can bet the other parties will be watching like hawks and seize on any mishaps.
From BBC ● May 3, 2025
He knew instinctively they would seize on it to hurt him even more.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
