seize the day
To enjoy the present and not worry about the future; to live for the moment.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She quit her job to seize the day.”
“After his health scare, he decided to seize the day and travel the world.”
“Standing on the cliff at sunrise, he whispered to himself to seize the day, knowing that regret weighs heavier than failure.”
A calque of the Latin *carpe diem*, the phrase appears originally in the works of the poet Horace. The Latin *carpo* denoted the act of plucking or harvesting, and was traditionally employed as a metaphor for the quiet enjoyment of a specific period of time. Horace’s instruction was an invitation to gather the benefits of the present, much as one might pick ripe fruit before it spoils.
The English preference for the word *seize* is a product of a traditional mistranslation. The verb was confused with *cape*, the singular imperative of *capio*, which denotes the act of grabbing or seizing something by force. As a result, a rural metaphor for harvesting time was replaced by a more aggressive suggestion of capturing it.
- 01
a cold day in July
The time of occurrence of an event that will never happen.
- 02
a day late and a dollar short
Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
- 03
a year and a day
A long time.
- 04
all one's born days
One's whole life.
- 05
as the day is long
Unceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.
- 06
bad hair day
A day when things seem to be unmanageable or go wrong.
- 07
bad old days
The past, seen as a time when things were worse.
- 08
banyan day
In British naval tradition, a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship.
Last updated August 10, 2026