seize the day
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seize the day
Sounds like sees the day
Where it comes from
Calque of Latin carpe diem, originally meaning "enjoy the day", literally "pluck (or harvest) the day", from a poem by the ancient poet Horace. In Latin, it was common to use carpo (“to pluck something, pick off”) metaphorically to express enjoying a period of time. The use of seize is a traditional mistranslation originating from a confusion with cape, singular imperative of capio (“to seize something, grab”).
verb seizes the day · seizing the day · seized the day
-
To enjoy the present and not worry about the future; to live for the moment.
Similar: carpe diem, gather rosebuds
- To make the most of today by achieving fulfillment in a philosophical or spiritual sense.
- To attack the day's efforts with vigor and purpose. IN toasting the beginning of a new relationship between China and the United States in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing twenty years ago, I quoted from a poem in which Mao Zedong exhorted his followers to work for the victory of communism: "So many deeds cry out to be done always urgently. Th
Translations
Every language
verb enjoy the present
| Español | aprovechar el día |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 花開堪折直須折 /花开堪折直须折 huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé |
| Português | carpe diem, colhe o dia, aproveita o momento |
| Français | cueillir le jour, carpe diem |
| Deutsch | nutze den Tag |
| Italiano | cogliere l'attimo |
| Русский | лови́ моме́нт loví momént |
Talk about this word "seize the day." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/seize%20the%20day. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. seize the day. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/seize%20the%20day "seize the day." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/seize%20the%20day.Cite this
@misc{seize_the_day_2026,
title = {seize the day},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/seize%20the%20day},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
