seize-up

noun

Stillstand, slowdown.

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Meanings

nounseize-up (plural seize-ups)

plural seize-ups

  1. Stillstand, slowdown.

    Growth in the UK service sector slowed last month amid a “seize-up” in activity as companies put projects on hold in the run-up to the general election.

    2024 July 3, Richard Partington, “UK service sector growth ‘seizes up’ as firms put plans on hold before election”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

Origin

Deverbal from seize up.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

seize-up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seize-up

MLA

“seize-up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seize-up. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “seize-up,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seize-up.

Source: seize-up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.