seize on/upon

phrasal verb

seized on/upon; seizing on/upon; seizes on/upon

: to take or use (something, such as a chance or opportunity) in a quick and eager way

His critics have seized on the scandal to call for his resignation.

She seized on the opportunity to tell her side of the story.

Examples of seize on/upon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Democrats, buoyed by the Wisconsin race, are encouraging many candidates not to breach a judicial line but also to seize on a topic that has produced victories up and down the ballot since 2022 -- in Montana and beyond. —Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024

Bitter politics have paralyzed any movement on the issue, as Republicans seize on it as a political weapon against President Biden. —Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024

The ruling also is expected to set a precedent for other Caribbean nations fighting to protect land that wealthy foreign developers seek to develop, especially after investors seize upon economic opportunities following a catastrophe or national disaster. —Dánica Coto, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024

Blackthorne’s gradual understanding of such samurai mores is meant to mirror our own, but his demotion from the novel’s lone protagonist to one of several leads gives audiences little to seize on emotionally. —Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024

If the Dolphins retain Jones, new coordinator Anthony Weaver needs to seize on that skill more than three times in a season. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2024

Some negotiators expressed concern that fossil-fuel companies could seize on that language to continue emitting at high rates while promising to capture the emissions later. —Brad Plumer, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2023

But a swift, negative reaction in the military ranks, misgivings among some officials in Kyiv, and uncertainty in the West suggest Zelensky’s removal of the popular general could backfire — allowing Moscow to seize on the instability. —David L. Stern, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

Wealthy investors are eager to seize on opportunities from the upheaval in US commercial properties, whose landlords are being squeezed by higher borrowing costs, sinking valuations and bank lending curbs. —Ben Stupples, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024