Arrest vs. Seize — What's the Difference?

An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questioned further and/or charged.

Take hold of suddenly and forcibly

To stop; check

Take (an opportunity) eagerly and decisively

To seize and hold under the authority of law.

(of a feeling or pain) affect (someone) suddenly or acutely

To capture and hold briefly (the attention, for example); engage.

Strongly appeal to or attract (the imagination or attention)

To undergo cardiac arrest

(of a machine with moving parts) become jammed

The act of detaining in legal custody

Be in legal possession of

The state of being so detained

Fasten or attach (someone or something) to something by binding with turns of rope

A device for stopping motion, especially of a moving part.

To grasp suddenly and forcibly; take or grab

The act of stopping or the condition of being stopped.

To take by force; capture or conquer

A check, stop, an act or instance of arresting something.

To take quick and forcible possession of; confiscate

The condition of being stopped, standstill.

To focus the attention or intellect on

(legal) The process of arresting a criminal, suspect etc.

To make use of (an opportunity, for example).

A confinement, detention, as after an arrest.

To have a sudden overwhelming effect on

A device to physically arrest motion.

To overwhelm physically

(nautical) The judicial detention of a ship to secure a financial claim against its operators.

Also seise (sēz) Law To cause (someone) to be in possession of something.

(obsolete) Any seizure by power, physical or otherwise.

(Nautical) To bind (a rope) to another, or to a spar, with turns of small line.

(farriery) A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse

To lay sudden or forcible hold of something.

To stop the motion of (a person, animal, or body part).

To cohere or fuse with another part as a result of high pressure or temperature and restrict or prevent further motion or flow.

To stay, remain.

To come to a halt

(transitive) To stop or slow (a process, course etc.).

To exhibit signs of seizure activity, often with convulsions.

(transitive) To seize (someone) with the authority of the law; to take into legal custody.

(transitive) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.

(transitive) To catch the attention of.

(transitive) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).

To undergo cardiac arrest.

(transitive) To take possession of (by force, law etc.).

To stop; to check or hinder the motion or action of; as, to arrest the current of a river; to arrest the senses.

(transitive) To have a sudden and powerful effect upon.

To take, seize, or apprehend by authority of law; as, to arrest one for debt, or for a crime.

To bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line.

To seize on and fix; to hold; to catch; as, to arrest the eyes or attention.

To fasten, fix.

To rest or fasten; to fix; to concentrate.

(intransitive) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).

To tarry; to rest.

(intransitive) To have a seizure.

The act of stopping, or restraining from further motion, etc.; stoppage; hindrance; restraint; as, an arrest of development.

(intransitive) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.

The taking or apprehending of a person by authority of law; legal restraint; custody. Also, a decree, mandate, or warrant.

To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.

Any seizure by power, physical or moral.

(law) (with of) To cause (an action or matter) to be or remain before (a certain judge or court).

A scurfiness of the back part of the hind leg of a horse; - also named rat-tails.

Of chocolate: to change suddenly from a fluid to an undesirably hard and gritty texture.

The act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal);

To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold of; to gripe or grasp suddenly; to reach and grasp.

The state of inactivity following an interruption;

To take possession of by force.

Take into custody;

To invade suddenly; to take sudden hold of; to come upon suddenly; as, a fever seizes a patient.

Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of;

To take possession of by virtue of a warrant or other legal authority; as, the sheriff seized the debtor's goods.

Attract and fix;

To fasten; to fix.

Cause to stop;

To grap with the mind; to comprehend fully and distinctly; as, to seize an idea.

To bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff, as yarn or marline; as, to seize ropes.

Take hold of; grab;

Take or capture by force;

Take possession of by force, as after an invasion;

Take temporary possession of as a security, by legal authority;

Seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession;

Hook by a pull on the line;

Affect;

Capture the attention or imagination of;