Bob seized on the rain as an excuse for missing school.
Whenever Herb is in a romantic mood, Irene seizes on it and starts talking about marriage, which is not what Herb had in mind.
Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". Оригинал: A.Маккей, М.Т.Боткер, Дж.И.Гейтс. 1997.
seize upon — phrasal verb seize on or seize upon [transitive, often passive] Word forms seize on : present tense I/you/we/they seize on he/she/it seizes on present participle seizing on past tense seized on past participle seized on seize on/upon something to … English dictionary
seize upon — ˈseize on ˈseize u ˌpon [transitive] often passive [present tense I/you/we/they seize on he/she/it seizes on present participle … Useful english dictionary
seize upon — verb a) To grasp or take hold of (an object) suddenly, forcibly, or tightly. The child seized upon the cats tail as soon as it was within reach. b) To take up, embrace … Wiktionary
seize upon something — ˈseize on/upon sth derived to suddenly show a lot of interest in sth, especially because you can use it to your advantage Syn: pounce on/upon • The rumours were eagerly seized upon by the local press. • Peter seized on her last comment … Useful english dictionary
To seize upon — Seize Seize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Seized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Seizing}.] [OE. seisen, saisen, OF. seisir, saisir, F. saisir, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. set. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Seize — Seize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Seized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Seizing}.] [OE. seisen, saisen, OF. seisir, saisir, F. saisir, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E. set. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See {Set}, v … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
seize — [sēz] vt. seized, seizing [ME saisen < OFr saisir < ML sacire, prob. < Frank * sakjan, to lay claim to one s rights < IE base * sāg > SAKE1] 1. a) Historical to put in legal possession of a feudal holding b) to put in legal… … English World dictionary
seize — v. (d; intr.) to seize on, upon (to seize upon a chance remark) * * * [siːz] upon (to seize upon a chance remark) (d; intr.) to seize on … Combinatory dictionary
seize on — phrasal verb seize on or seize upon [transitive, often passive] Word forms seize on : present tense I/you/we/they seize on he/she/it seizes on present participle seizing on past tense seized on past participle seized on seize on/upon something to … English dictionary
seize — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. t. grasp, clutch; capture, arrest, appropriate, confiscate; afflict; attach, distrain; comprehend, understand. See stealing, intelligence, acquisition. II (Roget s IV) v. 1. [To grasp] Syn. take, take … English dictionary for students
