seismology

noun (U) the scientific study of earthquakes — seismologist noun (C) seize /si:z/ verb

1 (T) to take hold of something suddenly and violently: He seized my hand and dragged me away from the window. | seize sth from sb: Maggie seized the letter from her and began to read out loud.

2 (T) to take control of a place suddenly and quickly, using military force: seize power/seize control (of): The rebels have seized power in a violent coup.

3 (T) if the police or government officers seize something, they take away illegal goods such as drugs or guns

4 seize a chance/opportunity (with both hands) to quickly and eagerly do something when you have the chance to

5 be seized with terror/desire etc to suddenly be affected by an extremely strong feeling: I was seized with a sudden desire to laugh out loud.

6 (T) to suddenly catch someone and make sure they cannot get away: The gunmen were seized in a military style operation.

seize on/upon sth phrasal verb (T) to suddenly become very interested in an idea, excuse, what someone says etc: Margot seized on the excuse to get out of choir practice. seize up phrasal verb (I)

a) if an engine or part of a machine seizes up, its moving parts stop working and can no longer move, for example because of lack of oil

b) if a part of your body, such as your back, seizes up you suddenly cannot move it and it is very painful