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Adapted to seize or grasp; seizing; grasping; as, the prehensile tail of a monkey.

The act of taking hold, seizing, or grasping, as with the hand or other member.

The act of seizing with violence. [Obs.] Barrow .

An attack or invasion for the purpose of making arrests, seizing property, or plundering; as, a raid of the police upon a gambling house; a raid of contractors on the public treasury. [Colloq. U. S.]

Given to plunder; disposed or accustomed to seize by violence; seizing by force. " The downfall of the rapacious and licentious Knights Templar." Motley.

The act of seizing and carrying away by force; violent seizure; robbery. And ruined orphans of thy rapes complain. Sandys.

The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder. Men who were impelled to war quite as much by the desire of rapine as by the desire of glory. Macaulay.

Adapted for seizing prey; -- said of the legs, claws, etc., of insects, birds, and other animals.

A seizing by violence; a hurrying along; rapidity with violence. [Obs.] That 'gainst a rock, or flat, her keel did dash With headlong rapture. Chapman.

A second seizure; the act of seizing again. Bacon.

Tribute. [R.] "Seizing scatt and treasure." Longfellow.

The act of seizing, or the state of being seized; sudden and violent grasp or gripe; a taking into possession; as, the seizure of a thief, a property, a throne, etc.

or his attorney, or at his usual place of abode. -- Service of an attachment (Law), the seizing of the person or goods according to the direction. -- Service of an execution (Law), the levying of it upon the goods, estate, or person of the defendant. -- Service pipe, a pipe connecting mains with a dwelling, as in g…

A sudden, eager bite; a sudden seizing, or effort to seize, as with the teeth.

rpentina) common in the fresh waters of the United States; -- so called from its habit of seizing its prey by a snap of its jaws. Called also mud turtle. (b) See Alligator snapper, under Alligator.

A hasty catching or seizing; a grab; a catching at, or attempt to seize, suddenly.

The act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise.

A falling on and seizing, as the prey of a rapacious bird; the act of swooping. The eagle fell, . . . and carried away a whole litter of cubs at a swoop. L'Estrange.

The act of gaining possession; a seizing; seizure; apprehension.

The act of a hawk, or other bird of prey, in seizing its quarry, and soaring with it into air. [Obs.]